Artemis Investment Management LLP Purchases 315 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $29,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,118,000. Transform Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,403,000. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $279.30. 975,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,481. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $274.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.68. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $200.18 and a 1 year high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 55.22% and a net margin of 9.71%. On average, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

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.