Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,554,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,556 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $553,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $273.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $304.18 and its 200 day moving average is $335.18. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. The trade was a 28.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,538,826. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LPLA shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

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.