Iridian Asset Management LLC CT Raises Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 101.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,273 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 2.5% of Iridian Asset Management LLC CT's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT owned 0.08% of LPL Financial worth $13,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in LPL Financial by 164.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in LPL Financial by 220.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

LPLA traded up $1.33 on Wednesday, reaching $259.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 584,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,440. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $260.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.00 and a fifty-two week high of $274.35.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $268.36.

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.

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