Artemis Investment Management LLP Acquires 12,896 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,896 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.11% of LPL Financial worth $27,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. FMR LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 8.0% during the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after purchasing an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $348.93 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $350.38. The firm has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $327.62 and a 200-day moving average of $267.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.