Vestcor Inc Boosts Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 80.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $295,982,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,145,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 4.2 %

LPLA stock opened at $321.99 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $352.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.00% 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.