Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $9.06 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $295,982,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after buying an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $308.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $352.96 and its 200 day moving average is $302.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 0.39%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial 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 owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

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.