LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 306,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 135,924 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.41% of LPL Financial worth $100,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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LPL Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $3.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $313.89. 255,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 819,603. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $320.19. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.83.

About LPL Financial

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.