Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Lowers Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after purchasing an additional 88,635 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,586,000 after purchasing an additional 275,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 927,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,011,000 after buying an additional 153,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

LPLA stock opened at $304.90 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $309.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $22.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.45.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.08% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

LPL Financial 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.