Blair William & Co. IL Sells 1,766 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,766 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 164.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after purchasing an additional 6,865 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in LPL Financial by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted 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%. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.