Diversified Trust Co Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 6,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Europe London LLP raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 31,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,132,000 after acquiring an additional 10,756 shares in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 12,785.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 234,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,382,000 after purchasing an additional 232,704 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,446,000 after buying an additional 48,439 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $274.38.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $238.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $289.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.76.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.94 EPS. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

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.