Allstate Corp Takes $720,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.9 %

LPLA stock opened at $327.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $351.48 and a 200-day moving average of $313.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced 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 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.