Magnolia Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 1,551 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Magnolia Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 710,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,369,000 after buying an additional 126,266 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $357.36 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $350.44 and a 200-day moving average of $293.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.