Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 360.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LPLA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $327.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $330.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $265.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.