United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 292 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 77.7% during the third quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 82,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,270,000 after buying an additional 36,212 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in LPL Financial by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $266,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $277.77.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $22.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $286.79. 563,416 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 732,107. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $291.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $232.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.13.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial 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.