3,687 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Purchased by Chiron Investment Management LLC

Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanchez Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.83.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $311.42 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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’s 50 day moving average is $340.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.63. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (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%. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.