Wells Fargo & Company MN Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 504,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,365 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.67% of LPL Financial worth $164,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth 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 purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $283.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $348.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.70. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04. The company has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. 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

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.42.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.