Bamco Inc. NY Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,184 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $32,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, American National Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $17.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $221.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,638,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,948. The company has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.90. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $200.18 and a 1-year high of $289.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $268.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.05.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 54.38% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.76 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.06%.

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.