LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 36.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.29% of LPL Financial worth $793,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $321.06 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $292.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were 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 was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.