Versor Investments LP Invests $1.83 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,833,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.6% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 710,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,369,000 after acquiring an additional 126,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $362.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $351.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given 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 target price of $379.17.

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.