Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 577 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 96.8% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in LPL Financial by 61.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,386,000 after purchasing an additional 13,814 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 117,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $345.08 on Thursday. 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 fifty day moving average is $353.43 and its 200 day moving average is $298.55. The stock has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

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.