Waddell & Associates LLC Invests $208,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Waddell & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 74.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $4.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $211.43. The stock had a trading volume of 801,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,220. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $289.88. The firm has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $229.00 and its 200-day moving average is $255.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.30.

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.