JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 27.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $296,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.75.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $331.92 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $336.40. The company has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. 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.