LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lowered its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,721 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $14,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $7,360,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 504,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,365 shares in the last quarter. Lynwood Price Capital Management LP purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,591,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $287.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $347.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.90. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.33.

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.