1,886 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $12,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in LPL Financial by 79.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. CX Institutional raised its position in LPL Financial by 268.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $113,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $617,139.12. This trade represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Bank of America dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $557.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $356.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.00.

LPL Financial Stock Down 3.1%

LPL Financial stock opened at $292.27 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $319.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.55. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.05% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 6.88%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. provides brokerage and investment advisory services through a network of independent financial professionals. The company supports financial advisors, registered investment advisers, banks and credit unions with services designed to help them serve individual and institutional clients. Its offerings include investment and retirement planning platforms, brokerage and advisory account services, custody, financial technology, research, compliance support and practice-management resources.