Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 733 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 733 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in LPL Financial by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $371.93 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $348.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 presently 8.55%.

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.