MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 92 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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

A number of research firms have issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.83.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

LPLA opened at $327.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.24. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $332.54. The stock has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given 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 payout ratio 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.