Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $145,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after acquiring an additional 613,909 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,674,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,377,753,000 after purchasing an additional 160,281 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,881 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in LPL Financial by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,745,000 after purchasing an additional 926,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $631,664,000 after purchasing an additional 95,423 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,959,260.20. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,675. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $353.71 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $344.33 and its 200 day moving average is $361.81. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Raymond James Financial raised shares of LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $356.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Rothschild Redb lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.00.

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.