JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 76,021 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,199,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,021 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $391,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $336.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $351.92 and a 200-day moving average of $311.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.