Argent Capital Management LLC Buys 3,682 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 valued at $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the second 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 period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 82.0% during the third 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 during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $338.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $326.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.91. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $344.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.50.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.