Eagle Bay Advisors LLC Sells 73 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

LPLA traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $327.81. 115,000 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,146. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $344.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $323.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.66. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

About LPL Financial

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.