Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 373,077 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,970,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 373,077 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $655,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 41.5% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.8% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 116,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,920,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $364.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $29.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $366.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.30. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

Key LPL Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting LPL Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Jefferies raised their price target to $440 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling ~21% upside vs. the current price — a near-term catalyst for demand. Jefferies Raises Target
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan boosted its target to $439 and kept an Overweight rating, another institutional endorsement supporting the rally. JPMorgan Raises Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus: adjusted EPS $5.23 (vs. $4.82 est.) and revenue $4.93B (vs. $4.90B). LPL reported record total advisory & brokerage assets (~$2.4T) and declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend — fundamentals that support valuations and analyst optimism. Q4 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and the Q4 call/transcript emphasize integration progress (Commonwealth, Atria) and recruiting priorities — constructive long-term but worth watching for execution and retention metrics. Earnings Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Street caution on 2026 expense outlook: LPL guided materially higher Core G&A when including Commonwealth integration costs (2026 core G&A including Commonwealth: $2,155–2,210M). That guidance and large acquisition-related costs prompted investor concern and was cited as a reason for share weakness right after the print. Expense Outlook Weighs
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its target to $378 and moved to a Hold — a sign some analysts are less comfortable with near-term margin/expense risk despite the beat. TD Cowen Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings coverage highlights that rising expenses and acquisition/integration costs overshadowed the top-line beat for some investors, creating short-term volatility risk. Costs Rise Despite Beat

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,747,538. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial 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.