Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Buys New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.50.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $384.45. 1,194,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 839,497. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.18. 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 fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $390.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.