Brown Financial Advisors Invests $310,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after purchasing an additional 48,439 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after acquiring an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,586,000 after buying an additional 275,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $289.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.69.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $231.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick 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.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

About LPL Financial

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.