IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 38.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after purchasing an additional 11,703 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 533.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $3,648,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in LPL Financial by 23.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,923,000 after acquiring an additional 21,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $289.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.77.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $260.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $289.88. The stock has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.17.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.71 EPS for the current year.

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.