Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 11,516.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 92,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,592,000 after purchasing an additional 92,020 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 15,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in LPL Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $362.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $351.24 and its 200 day moving average is $293.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.