Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 267.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 66,932 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $21,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $317.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $322.03. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.31.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.