LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 504,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 359,078 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.67% of LPL Financial worth $164,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,946,000 after buying an additional 23,111 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,290,000 after purchasing an additional 405,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $305,747,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.83.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $306.02. The stock had a trading volume of 413,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $335.31 and its 200-day moving average is $320.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % 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 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.