Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 166.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 145,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,494,000 after purchasing an additional 90,775 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $280,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $360,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 20,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,832,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $12,562,070. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 3.2 %

LPLA opened at $308.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $352.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors 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 0.39%. 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 topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.