LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,702 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during 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. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $314.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.23. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $322.03.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

LPL Financial Company 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.