Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, 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 value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $334.45 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.10. 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 company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LPLA shares. 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.