Tobam Buys 1,895 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Tobam grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 16.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises approximately 1.7% of Tobam’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Tobam’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 72.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $334.70 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $368.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.03. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $431.80.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.