LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,787 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.23% of LPL Financial worth $56,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners raised its stake in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,747,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $351.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.11. The company has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other 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 transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company 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.