Bridges Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $312.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $312.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

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.