Potentia Wealth Takes Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Potentia Wealth purchased 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $295,982,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $84,145,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.94.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

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.