Globeflex Capital L P Lowers Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Globeflex Capital L P lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 70.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,368 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position 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 last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA traded up $2.24 on Thursday, hitting $334.45. 571,820 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,361. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $351.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.90. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.