Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 1,334 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $295,982,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $136,440,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,290,000 after buying an additional 405,341 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of LPLA traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $306.02. The company had a trading volume of 413,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,284. The stock has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.55. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value 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 represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.