Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 18,286 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 215,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,286 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors owned approximately 0.29% of LPL Financial worth $70,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.83.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

LPL Financial stock traded up $4.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $338.99. 792,297 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 825,657. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $320.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.63 by $0.52. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. LPL Financial's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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.