Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Cuts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,443 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for 3.6% of Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. owned approximately 0.25% of LPL Financial worth $61,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Sanchez Wealth Management Group boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $5.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $372.34. The stock had a trading volume of 698,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,086. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $375.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.