National Pension Service Has $45.44 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

National Pension Service boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 161,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,758 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $45,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $91,012,000. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $199,998,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $371,616,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in LPL Financial by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,713,000 after acquiring an additional 57,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,822,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of LPLA opened at $353.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $347.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $400.16. The company has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid 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 was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $389.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,735 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,845. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPLA) is the parent company of LPL Financial LLC, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser that provides services and support to financial advisors. Rather than operating primarily through a proprietary branch network, LPL enables independent financial professionals, registered investment advisers, and advisors affiliated with banks and credit unions to operate their own practices while accessing investment products, technology, and business resources.

The company’s platform supports brokerage and fee-based advisory services, retirement plan services, insurance and annuity products, alternative investments, cash management, research, compliance, and practice management.