First Horizon Advisors Inc. Purchases 47 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. One Day In July LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $222,000. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $298,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $362.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04. 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 has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.