Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 27,231 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 452,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,231 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.60% of LPL Financial worth $147,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,063,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

LPLA stock opened at $371.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.33.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value 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 represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.