Royal Bank of Canada Increases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 3.4%, owning about 0.22% of the company, valued at approximately $57.53 million.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in LPL Financial, indicating notable interest from institutional investors, who now own 95.66% of the company's stock.
• LPL Financial reported a 30.8% increase in revenue year-over-year in its latest quarterly earnings, beating analysts' expectations with an EPS of $4.51.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,769 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.22% of LPL Financial worth $57,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in LPL Financial by 234.5% during 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in LPL Financial by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Barclays dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock valued at $1,163,920 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 7.5%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $27.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $332.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,643,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 678,326. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.41 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $371.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.68.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.