South Dakota Investment Council Invests $2.38 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,378,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $311.88 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $353.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.25. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.83 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,498 shares of company stock worth $3,336,602 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.