Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 298 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth 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. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $326.30 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $352.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.