Good Life Advisors LLC Makes New $298,000 Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in LPL Financial by 21.6% during 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 buying an additional 126,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % 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 Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $379.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.42. The company has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $383.61.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

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.