Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Makes New $80,000 Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. 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 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 12.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.20.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

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 owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’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 owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $268.64 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.35 and a 1 year high of $276.12. The company has a market capitalization of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

LPL Financial Company 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.