Fmr LLC Has $772.93 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $772,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $325.72 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $330.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $270.26 and a 200-day moving average of $254.32.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

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.