LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Holdings Lessened by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 19.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 710,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 174,263 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $165,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners increased its position in LPL Financial by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 31.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,227,000 after buying an additional 183,755 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 52.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,285,000 after buying an additional 164,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,004,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $326.85 on Friday. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $327.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.