Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $27.52 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 84,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,518,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in 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 valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in 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 valued at $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 82.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP raised its stake in LPL Financial by 52.2% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 643,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,708,000 after purchasing an additional 220,622 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted 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. Barclays boosted 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $371.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.33. The company has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 have sold 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.