LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,584,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 59,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,644 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $559,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $326.51 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $336.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.20.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About LPL Financial

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, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.