Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Buys Shares of 24,045 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,851,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities increased their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.50.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $384.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,194,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,731. 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.01. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released 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 $4.54 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.