Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,257 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded up $3.34 on Wednesday, hitting $383.33. 730,854 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $383.54. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $347.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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 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, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.