Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $10,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $348.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.83. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $350.38.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.