Boston Partners Has $1.28 Billion Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for 1.6% of Boston Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.05% of LPL Financial worth $1,278,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price 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 target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $328.29 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $352.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

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.