Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Makes New Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 417,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $136,440,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.56% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted 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 buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $339.15 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $352.42 and its 200-day moving average is $310.06. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

LPL Financial 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.