LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 34,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,418,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 55,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,078,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in LPL Financial by 9,444.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 57,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,698,000 after buying an additional 56,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $8,949,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $334.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.10. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Company 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.