BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $6.12 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 110.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,840 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of LPLA traded up $3.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $315.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 694,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,865. The company has a market cap of $25.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $330.03 and a 200 day moving average of $322.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.