Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 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 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Activity

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

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.