Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 230.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,998 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after purchasing an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 11.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 884,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,077,000 after purchasing an additional 90,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP grew its stake in LPL Financial by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 783,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,773,000 after buying an additional 68,276 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $270.26 and a 200 day moving average of $254.32. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $330.72.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.