B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $735,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 8.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after buying an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 11.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 884,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,077,000 after buying an additional 90,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 783,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,773,000 after buying an additional 68,276 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $326.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $263.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.18. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $327.55. The firm has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’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. As a group, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

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.