LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Purchased by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 366.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,915 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after acquiring an additional 48,439 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in LPL Financial by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,509 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 33.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,586,000 after buying an additional 275,286 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 970,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,472,000 after buying an additional 23,890 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 19.8% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 927,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,011,000 after purchasing an additional 153,072 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock traded up $4.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $223.82. The company had a trading volume of 844,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,880. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.71. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $289.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 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 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. JMP Securities upped their target price on LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $279.30.

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.