LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Purchased by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 109.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.42.

LPL Financial Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $283.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.