Quarry LP Has $69,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Quarry LP increased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 275.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $295,982,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2,922.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 470,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,495,000 after purchasing an additional 454,553 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $136,440,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $324.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $322.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $325.49. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.83.

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.