Aberdeen Group plc Has $30.81 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,470 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.12% of LPL Financial worth $30,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities set a $475.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $431.80.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $334.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $367.40 and its 200 day moving average is $356.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.