Compton Financial Group LLC Takes $576,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Compton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000. LPL Financial makes up about 0.1% of Compton Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox grew its position in LPL Financial by 77.3% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,249 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $402,312,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,745,000 after purchasing an additional 926,122 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after purchasing an additional 613,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in LPL Financial by 444.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,825,000 after purchasing an additional 450,326 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $316.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

About LPL Financial

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.