Swedbank AB Raises Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 257.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,000 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $26,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.4% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 11.1% in the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 61,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,460,000 after purchasing an additional 6,184 shares during the period. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.7% during the third quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $373.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $361.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $359.97. The firm has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.05%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,138 shares of company stock worth $2,983,353. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $406.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.79.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.