Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 29,036 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 81.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,036 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $21,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 25.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 3,339 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 413,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,284. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $335.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $320.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. 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

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % 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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.