Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,481 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 345.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 882.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,996,000 after buying an additional 77,169 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 281.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 485 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $330.23. The stock had a trading volume of 299,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,808. The stock's 50 day moving average is $293.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.80. The firm has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $334.38. 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid 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 0.36%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

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.