Pinnbrook Capital Management LP Makes New $4.99 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 15,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,991,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock traded down $7.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $371.93. 1,175,849 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 664,201. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.