Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 46.8% in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 12,219 shares valued at approximately $4.58 million.
• Several research analysts have upgraded their ratings on LPL Financial, with price targets set as high as $460.00, and the stock holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected earnings with $4.51 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.30, and showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 30.8%.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 46.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,893 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.77.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $312.18 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $236.59 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. The company has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $352.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.90.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock worth $1,097,290 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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