Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, American National Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $5.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $215.51. 1,126,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 675,438. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.18 and a 52-week high of $289.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.05.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 54.38%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.94 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.76 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

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.