KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $10.97 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $10,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 42,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,194,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,125,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $406.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.93.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $321.00 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $281.51 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $308.74 and a 200-day moving average of $342.13.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,569 shares of company stock worth $2,720,733 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.