Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 77,169 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 882.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,169 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of LPL Financial worth $23,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 38.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,703 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $3,375,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 533.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $3,648,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 23.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,923,000 after buying an additional 21,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.30.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $220.50. 599,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 714,553. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $289.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $247.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

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.