LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,900 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings 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 worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $332.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other 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 value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.