Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,769 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $26,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 770.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 724.2% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LPLA. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $265.49 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.70. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $179.00 and a 52-week high of $276.12. The firm has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 56.36%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.