Capital World Investors Buys 1,447 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $182,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 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 trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $293.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $332.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04. 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 quarterly 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

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.