Avanza Fonder AB Invests $1.46 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Avanza Fonder AB 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,460,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,635,000 after acquiring an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $348.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $327.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $350.38.

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 net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LPLA. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

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.