Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 2,689 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,689 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,635,000 after acquiring an additional 223,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 643,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,708,000 after acquiring an additional 220,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $330.23. 299,395 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,808. The company has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $293.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.80. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $334.38.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors 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 is presently 9.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LPLA. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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 LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.