Chiron Investment Management LLC Invests $1.20 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,740,000 after acquiring an additional 14,106 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in LPL Financial by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,561,000 after acquiring an additional 19,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,625,000 after acquiring an additional 13,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LPLA. Citigroup cut their price target on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of LPLA traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $306.02. The stock had a trading volume of 413,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,284. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.55. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-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 $24.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

About LPL Financial

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.