Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 41.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,747,538. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $376.33 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $366.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $406.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $427.69.

About LPL Financial

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.