Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,411,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.83.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $4.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $338.99. The stock had a trading volume of 792,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,657. The company has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $320.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.63 by $0.52. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

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.