Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 5,877 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 176.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JMP Securities increased their target price on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $261.12. The company had a trading volume of 563,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,787. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $274.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.