Swedbank AB Grows Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,058 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.50.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $366.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $375.74. The firm has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $335.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

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.