Stenger Family Office LLC Invests $1.84 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,837,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JMP Securities cut their target price on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $313.81 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $337.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.14. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.