MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,227,000 after buying an additional 183,755 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 52.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,285,000 after buying an additional 164,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.83.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $284.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $332.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.