Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $339.80 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 1,453.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 971,814 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.31% of LPL Financial worth $339,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $868,757,000 after acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LPL Financial by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,290,000 after acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA traded up $7.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $384.27. The company had a trading volume of 348,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,707. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $366.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $347.34. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.69.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.