Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 60.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,900 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA traded up $13.84 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $341.74. The stock had a trading volume of 556,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,234. The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $351.95 and a 200 day moving average of $308.05. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. 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.