Barclays PLC Has $26.61 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,189 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.10% of LPL Financial worth $26,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,378,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 295.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 118,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,310,000 after buying an additional 88,302 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,308,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 77.7% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 198,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,199,000 after acquiring an additional 87,011 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 51.2% during the third quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 767,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,284,000 after acquiring an additional 259,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $302.96 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $348.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $350.63. The stock has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

About LPL Financial

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.