Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 13,814 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,814 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

LPL Financial Stock Up 11.7 %

LPLA opened at $308.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.06. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $309.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm 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 52.08% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

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.