LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $424,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $573,000. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,031,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA traded up $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $342.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 385,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $352.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.94. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

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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 for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

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.