Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $3.71 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in LPL Financial by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $265.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $274.35.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.