Advisory Services Network LLC Has $555,000 Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Advisory Services Network LLC cut its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 83.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,562 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $313.81 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $337.77 and a 200 day moving average of $320.14. The firm has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.