Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,983 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.17.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $10.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $308.87. The stock had a trading volume of 895,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,632. The company has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $352.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.43. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.55%.

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.