Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 233 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Sanchez Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $383.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $383.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $347.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % 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 Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.