Van ECK Associates Corp Has $11.03 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,586 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $11,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

LPLA stock traded down $3.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $379.46. 1,348,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,699. The stock's fifty day moving average is $347.17 and its 200-day moving average 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. The company has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $383.61.

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 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, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.17.

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.