KBC Group NV Sells 2,040 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,040 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 419.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304 shares in the last quarter. Future Fund LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 5,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $963,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 175,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,757,000 after acquiring an additional 4,572 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $314.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $322.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

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.