Natural Investments LLC Invests $212,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 532,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,835,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 6,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 40,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,243,000 after purchasing an additional 8,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

LPLA stock opened at $319.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $353.10 and its 200 day moving average is $302.31. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

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.