Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys 63,100 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,100 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in LPL Financial were worth $75,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $283.31 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $348.34 and a 200-day moving average of $316.43. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.42.

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.