Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 856 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,945,000 after purchasing an additional 79,869 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,744,000 after purchasing an additional 181,594 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $200,497,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 583,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,791,000 after purchasing an additional 15,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,951,000 after purchasing an additional 35,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $284.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.13 and a 12 month high of $284.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $266.05 and its 200 day moving average is $248.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 55.22%. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,681 shares of company stock worth $11,109,490 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Profile

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.