LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third 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 period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $334.70 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $368.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.56. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities set a $475.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $431.80.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial 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.