Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases Shares of 417,873 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 417,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $136,440,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $295,982,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $339.15 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $352.42 and a 200-day moving average of $310.06. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial 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.