17,226 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Acquired by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,007,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.83.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $327.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $332.54.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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