Summit Trail Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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 worth $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $362.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $341.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $375.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. 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. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.