LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $3,648,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in LPL Financial by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,123 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 217,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,586,000 after purchasing an additional 88,196 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 882.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,996,000 after purchasing an additional 77,169 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.0% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 28,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $270.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.32. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $330.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 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 report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.92.

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.