Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 880,842 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 880,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,497,000. Norges Bank owned 1.16% of LPL Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 5,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 189,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,144,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

LPLA stock opened at $272.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $265.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.45. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $190.13 and a one year high of $276.12.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 55.22% and a net margin of 9.71%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,770 shares of company stock worth $12,992,754 over the last 90 days. 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.