906,501 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 906,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $295,982,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 1.21% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,386,000 after buying an additional 13,814 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 117,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,386,000 after buying an additional 4,524 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $333.90. 953,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,031. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $353.69 and a 200-day moving average of $299.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.