Legacy Financial Group LLC Invests $446,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $43,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $360.29 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $361.63. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $331.55 and its 200 day moving average is $270.57. The firm has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

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.