LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,253 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.31% of LPL Financial worth $89,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,581,000 after buying an additional 317,002 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 23.2% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,107,610,000 after acquiring an additional 627,546 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,242,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,698,000 after acquiring an additional 800,171 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 20.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,453,000 after acquiring an additional 383,466 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $303.72 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $332.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $345.62.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.