National Bank of Canada FI Buys 1,097 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 300.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 227,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,844,000 after buying an additional 56,070 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 4.6% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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LPL Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $4.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $314.73. 69,922 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 818,785. The firm has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $338.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.19. 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 fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04.

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 (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays cut their price target on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.83.

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.