Prudential PLC Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total value of $564,645.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,785,729.10. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,336,675. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $438.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $421.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Rothschild Redb lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.00.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $344.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $343.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.70. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $27.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 11.05%.

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.