Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,092 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 710,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,369,000 after purchasing an additional 126,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.17.
Check Out Our Latest Report on LPLA
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.
LPL Financial Trading Down 4.4 %
Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $15.75 on Tuesday, reaching $343.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,338,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,459. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $353.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.74. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
LPL Financial Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.
About LPL Financial
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider LPL Financial, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and LPL Financial wasn't on the list.
While LPL Financial currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
