Norges Bank Takes $305.75 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 936,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,747,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.25% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $136,440,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,869 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’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 owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $336.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $351.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results 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 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

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.