Ethic Inc. Has $2.41 Million Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,372,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,956,000 after buying an additional 154,200 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,264,000 after buying an additional 20,881 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,730,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,664,000 after buying an additional 95,423 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,385,000 after buying an additional 1,053,351 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,964,000 after buying an additional 400,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rothschild Redb cut LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $455.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,959,260.20. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,333,105. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $340.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $340.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.23. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $259.86 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $27.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.