Bridges Investment Management Inc. Takes $321,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $235.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.27.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $215.52 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $289.88. The company has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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