BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC Buys 49,127 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA – Get Rating) by 128.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,127 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $19,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $285,777,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $117,183,000. State Street Corp grew its position in LPL Financial by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,609,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,981,000 after acquiring an additional 362,953 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 7.5% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,836,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,056,630,000 after buying an additional 338,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 7.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,574,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,923,000 after buying an additional 248,255 shares during the last quarter. 94.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 20,810 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.30, for a total transaction of $4,979,833.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,031,213.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 20,810 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.30, for a total value of $4,979,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,031,213.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 38,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.20, for a total transaction of $9,464,912.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,132,440.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,693 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,455. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $205.97 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.80 and a fifty-two week high of $271.56. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.72.

LPL Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from LPL Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LPLA. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $283.50 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. UBS Group downgraded LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $305.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.88.

LPL Financial Profile

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LPL Financial Holdings, Inc serves independent financial advisors and financial institutions, providing them with the technology, research, clearing and compliance services, and practice management programs they need to create and grow their practices. It provides objective financial guidance to millions of American families seeking wealth management, retirement planning, financial planning and asset management solutions.