LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Position Reduced by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp decreased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 847 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $198,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,391,000 after buying an additional 5,101 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.8% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,681,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 38.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after buying an additional 11,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LPLA. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

LPLA opened at $314.02 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $322.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $252.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

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.