ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $260,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $996,000. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3,600.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 54,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,000 after buying an additional 52,850 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after buying an additional 88,635 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $350.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $328.90 and a 200-day moving average of $268.76. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $354.13.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.12 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.50.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial 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.