Sapient Capital LLC Invests $655,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in LPL Financial by 13.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 12.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 3.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $276.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $270.79. The company had a trading volume of 480,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,351. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.26. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $179.00 and a 1-year high of $276.12.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 56.36%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.21 earnings per share. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 9.06%.

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.