Fulton Bank N.A. Grows Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,871,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $526,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $345.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $333.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $319.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.48. 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 $344.86. The company has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.