LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Wealth Alliance increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LPLA. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $357.36 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $350.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.38.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (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 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

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.