LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) is Azora Capital LP’s Largest Position

Azora Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 643,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,622 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises about 8.1% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Azora Capital LP owned approximately 0.86% of LPL Financial worth $149,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.83.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $330.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.03.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.