Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 57.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 405,341 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.49% of LPL Financial worth $364,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in LPL Financial by 300.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 58,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,941,000 after buying an additional 14,994 shares during the period. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $513,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $338.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $350.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.46. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.42.

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.