Scientech Research LLC Buys Shares of 3,698 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,456,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,460,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.50.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $6.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $377.95. The stock had a trading volume of 520,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 833,860. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.94. The company has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $394.78.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.