Barclays PLC Has $17.14 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 60.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,782 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.07% of LPL Financial worth $17,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,982,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $136,440,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LPL Financial by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,290,000 after acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $12.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $312.55. 1,134,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 826,732. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.