Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $253,000 Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC 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 773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in LPL Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 51,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,990,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,349,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in LPL Financial by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 227,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,844,000 after buying an additional 56,070 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.42.

LPL Financial Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $283.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $348.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.43. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

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%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was 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 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.