Cerity Partners LLC Has $3.87 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $311.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.83.

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.