CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 101.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 10.3% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,304,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 11,516.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 92,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,592,000 after purchasing an additional 92,020 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 15,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,693,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $371.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.33. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

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.