Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 936,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,747,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $136,440,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,197,000 after buying an additional 4,869 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $351.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given 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 an average target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.