LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 220.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA traded up $1.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $261.37. The stock had a trading volume of 127,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,029. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $274.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.79%.

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.