1,577 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Purchased by Potentia Wealth

Potentia Wealth acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s 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 owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This 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 this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

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.