ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Buys 70,940 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 109.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,940 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned about 0.18% of LPL Financial worth $44,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $338.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $350.80 and a 200-day moving average of $314.46. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% 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.