OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes $1.25 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,255,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at about $539,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,789,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $4,025,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $290,481,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $1,384,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.5%

LPL Financial stock opened at $360.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $330.25 and a 200 day moving average of $315.00. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.57%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.69.

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.