Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $1.98 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $371.74 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $351.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.33.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS 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 given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.