Capital World Investors Has $6.29 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Capital World Investors raised its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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 have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 98.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 4.1 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $293.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $332.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $322.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.

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.