Caprock Group LLC Invests $865,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $865,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $421.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $431.80.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $334.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $357.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.