Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Boosts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after buying an additional 36,474 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $295,982,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was 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 three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $345.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.55. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its 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%. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.

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.