LRT Capital Management LLC Takes $2.12 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

LRT Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,122,000. LPL Financial makes up approximately 1.8% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $295.66 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $301.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

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.