Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 84,278 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 84,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,518,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $539,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 29,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,730,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $167,000. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $506,000. Finally, Impact Investors Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $371.60. The stock had a trading volume of 267,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,602. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,770 shares of company stock worth $12,663,312. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial 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.