Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 57.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.49% of LPL Financial worth $364,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $1.31 on Monday, reaching $282.00. 1,163,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,575. The company has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day moving average price is $348.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released 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, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $376.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $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.