Commerce Bank Cuts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Commerce Bank reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,729 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $306.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $334.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.70. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given 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 0.39%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade 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 this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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