Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey Has $4.54 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,724,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,145,000 after acquiring an additional 164,484 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $222,000. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 3.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.3% during the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 16,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.0% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,384,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $438.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays upped their price target on LPL Financial from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $370.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $342.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $360.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total transaction of $564,645.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,785,729.10. The trade was a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,336,675 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.