Summit Trail Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’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 directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $362.42 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $375.83. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $341.35 and a 200 day moving average of $281.50. The stock has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

LPL Financial Company 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.