Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 1,564 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 6.6%, acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during Q2, bringing its total holdings to 25,359 shares worth approximately $9.51 million.
• LPL Financial recently reported a quarterly EPS of $4.51, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on LPL Financial, with some upgrading price targets while one analyst downgraded the stock to "sell"; the average target price currently sits at $391.54.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,821,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 325.0% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,192.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.54.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $340.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $222.74 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $359.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.87.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,671,235. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.