R Squared Ltd Makes New $78,000 Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in 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 buying an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 710,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,369,000 after buying an additional 126,266 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $366.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $375.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $335.66 and a 200-day moving average of $273.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

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.