Legacy Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after purchasing an additional 48,439 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,945,000 after buying an additional 79,869 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,744,000 after buying an additional 181,594 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $200,497,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 286.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,553,000 after buying an additional 613,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $9.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.64. 767,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 524,346. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $273.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.72. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.18 and a 12 month high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.44. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 55.22%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.68 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.