Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $261.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $179.00 and a 52-week high of $274.35.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.36.

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.