Wedmont Private Capital Acquires 55 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.50.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

LPLA opened at $338.25 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $344.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.