LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance raised its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.0 %

LPLA opened at $371.93 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.66. The firm has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

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.