Quantum Financial Advisors LLC Takes $208,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Quantum Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 7.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $216,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 23.8% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 13,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $327.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.02. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $344.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.