Fmr LLC Sells 363,848 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Fmr LLC lessened its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,958,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 363,848 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 3.95% of LPL Financial worth $966,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanchez Wealth Management Group lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $287.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $347.04 and its 200 day moving average is $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value 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. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, 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 note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.33.

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.