Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 842 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 842 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $7.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $371.93. 1,175,849 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 664,201. The company has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $348.99 and a 200 day moving average of $289.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned 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 $379.17.

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.