2Xideas AG Increases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

2Xideas AG lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,563 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises about 2.0% of 2Xideas AG’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. 2Xideas AG’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $14,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.42.

LPL Financial Trading Down 9.4 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $283.31 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $348.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.70. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.