Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 34,903 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,903 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $38,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth 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 worth $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $16.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $302.14. 252,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,720. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $342.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.89. 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 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.