Jennison Associates LLC Increases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,895 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.13% of LPL Financial worth $22,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 11.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $735,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2,076.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 43,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $326.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.81. The firm has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $327.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.