LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Position Boosted by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $305,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in LPL Financial by 116.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 175,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,757,000 after buying an additional 4,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 419.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

LPLA traded up $5.86 on Wednesday, reaching $332.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 629,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,253. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $352.00 and its 200 day moving average is $305.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

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, beating 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 forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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.

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.