Wells Fargo & Company MN Boosts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 504,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,365 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.67% of LPL Financial worth $164,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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LPL Financial Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of LPLA traded up $9.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.42. The company had a trading volume of 789,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,623. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $340.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 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 predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LPLA. JMP Securities cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Company 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.