Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,084 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,084 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,227,000 after purchasing an additional 183,755 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 52.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,285,000 after purchasing an additional 164,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $40,004,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $325.15 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $274.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.03. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $330.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, 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 current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Citigroup lifted 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.83.

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.