Avanza Fonder AB Buys Shares of 4,473 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $351.50.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded up $2.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $348.93. The company had a trading volume of 445,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,708. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $350.38. The firm has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $327.62 and a 200 day moving average of $267.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.