Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 707 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 58.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rivermont Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,611,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in LPL Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,943,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,954,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,440,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $384.20 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $390.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $328.88 and a 200 day moving average of $334.94. 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 has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

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.