Norges Bank Takes $371.62 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings, buying 1,040,445 shares valued at about $371.6 million and ending with roughly 1.30% ownership of the company.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $5.60 EPS versus estimates of $5.49, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• The stock has seen both insider selling and continued analyst support, with several firms maintaining buy/outperform ratings and a consensus price target of $398.86.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,040,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,616,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.30% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 49.5% during the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,879 shares of company stock worth $1,538,826. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $275.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $303.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $334.18.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial NASDAQ: LPLA is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.

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