LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Stock Holdings Lifted by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 5.3%, now owning approximately 517,362 shares worth about $169.25 million.
• LPL Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.51, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $3.84 billion—a 30.8% increase compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on LPL Financial, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.58.

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 517,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,217 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.65% of LPL Financial worth $169,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,304,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,846,000 after buying an additional 105,665 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2,319.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $1.20 on Friday, reaching $362.44. 911,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,633. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $373.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $355.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.41 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.LPL Financial's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

LPL Financial Profile

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.