LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,019 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 19,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $351.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $348.93. The company had a trading volume of 445,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,708. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $350.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $327.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.