BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 1,795 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,795 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,635,000 after buying an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $216,227,000 after acquiring an additional 183,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.83.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $3.74 on Thursday, reaching $330.65. 370,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,835. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $332.54. 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's 50 day moving average is $280.57 and its 200-day moving average is $256.32.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.