LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,676 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $358.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $329.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $361.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.50.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.