Amundi Grows Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 166.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,775 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.19% of LPL Financial worth $48,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $319.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.31. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.