DRW Securities LLC Buys New Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,418,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.27.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $215.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.06%.

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