Bridgewater Associates LP Has $21.19 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 81.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,036 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $21,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,815,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 98.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $10.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $295.27. The company had a trading volume of 64,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,822. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $334.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.30. 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 quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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%. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.83.

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.