Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 6,209 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 78.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,209 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of 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. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $9.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.42. 789,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,656. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $340.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $319.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, 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 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.83.

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.