Great Diamond Partners LLC Buys Shares of 649 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Great Diamond Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 710,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,369,000 after purchasing an additional 126,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $366.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $335.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $375.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.