National Bank of Canada FI Buys 1,097 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 300.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 227,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,844,000 after acquiring an additional 56,070 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Trading Up 11.2 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $318.88 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $342.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.89. The stock has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.