LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 51.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 128,932 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.51% of LPL Financial worth $123,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $136,028,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 38,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,491,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Solel Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,406,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $107,189,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Up 3.0%

LPLA stock traded up $11.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $388.02. 232,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 828,788. The company has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.66. 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 twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $390.12.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $374.42.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.