Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $655.42 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,970,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 373,077 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.46% of LPL Financial worth $655,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,747,538. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting LPL Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting LPL Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Jefferies raised their price target to $440 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling ~21% upside vs. the current price — a near-term catalyst for demand. Jefferies Raises Target
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan boosted its target to $439 and kept an Overweight rating, another institutional endorsement supporting the rally. JPMorgan Raises Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: adjusted EPS $5.23 (vs. $4.82 est.) and revenue $4.93B (vs. $4.90B). LPL reported record total advisory & brokerage assets (~$2.4T) and declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend — fundamentals that support valuations and analyst optimism. Q4 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and the Q4 call/transcript emphasize integration progress (Commonwealth, Atria) and recruiting priorities — constructive long-term but worth watching for execution and retention metrics. Earnings Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Street caution on 2026 expense outlook: LPL guided materially higher Core G&A when including Commonwealth integration costs (2026 core G&A including Commonwealth: $2,155–2,210M). That guidance and large acquisition-related costs prompted investor concern and was cited as a reason for share weakness right after the print. Expense Outlook Weighs
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its target to $378 and moved to a Hold — a sign some analysts are less comfortable with near-term margin/expense risk despite the beat. TD Cowen Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings coverage highlights that rising expenses and acquisition/integration costs overshadowed the top-line beat for some investors, creating short-term volatility risk. Costs Rise Despite Beat

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LPLA opened at $364.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $366.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.30. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 11.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.69.

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.