Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 198.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,963,000 after acquiring an additional 2,417 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 80.1% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LPLA traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $370.48. 1,097,593 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,568. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $390.23. The company has a market capitalization of $29.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $374.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total transaction of $573,945.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,889,830.60. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities lifted their price target on 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 raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.08.

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.