Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 34,903 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,903 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $38,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake 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 valued at $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 fourth quarter worth $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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 Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $283.31 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.70. The company has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.42.

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.