California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 121,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $32,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $221.52. 925,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,293. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.18 and a 52 week high of $289.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 54.38%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.