Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $406,000 Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd 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. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $295,982,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $326.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $352.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.72. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LPLA. UBS Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.