5,261 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management opened a new position in LPL Financial, buying 5,261 shares valued at about $1.88 million in the fourth quarter.
• Several insiders have recently sold shares, including Director Marc Eliot Cohen and CFO Matthew J. Audette, with insiders selling 8,569 shares worth about $2.72 million over the last 90 days.
• LPL Financial beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $5.60 per share versus $5.49 expected, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $398.86.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,879,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. The trade was a 28.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock worth $2,720,733 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $303.52 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $281.51 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $309.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial NASDAQ: LPLA is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.

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