California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29,129.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,308,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,190,966 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.44% of LPL Financial worth $9,663,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,735 shares of company stock worth $2,020,845 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.79.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $350.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.79. The stock has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $400.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

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.