Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Has $461,000 Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 60.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,139 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a 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. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $3.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $379.46. 1,348,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,699. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $348.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.42. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $383.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.