Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 514 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in LPL Financial by 13.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 12.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 3.6% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $270.79. The stock had a trading volume of 480,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,351. The company has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $276.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.15.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 56.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.20.

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.