LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 57.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,757 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its position in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,946,000 after buying an additional 23,111 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,747,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $295,982,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of 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 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 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.9 %

LPLA opened at $327.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.38. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.