First Pacific Advisors LP Sells 73 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

First Pacific Advisors LP cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 2.1% of First Pacific Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. First Pacific Advisors LP owned about 0.61% of LPL Financial worth $149,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $295,982,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now 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 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $333.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.03. The firm has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.