Citigroup Inc. Has $16.85 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,764 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $16,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 267.6% during the second quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $41,000. 92.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $277.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $282.00 to $284.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 1,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.37, for a total transaction of $429,174.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,710.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 1,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.37, for a total transaction of $429,174.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,710.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Steinmeier sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.68, for a total transaction of $2,499,604.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,104,689.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,583 shares of company stock worth $3,017,039. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $225.11 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.38. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.91. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $257.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 60.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.14%.

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, retirement and education savings plans, fixed income, and insurance, as well as alternative investments, such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and auction rate notes.