LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 489,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,554 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.65% of LPL Financial worth $159,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

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LPL Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $3.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $339.15. The stock had a trading volume of 356,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,379. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $352.42 and its 200-day moving average is $310.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last three months. 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.