LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stake Lessened by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,934 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $22,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $326.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.72. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

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.