LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stake Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,218,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60,937 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of LPL Financial worth $2,356,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $339.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $352.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.06.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

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.