Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,945,000 after buying an additional 79,869 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in LPL Financial by 17.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,099,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,322,000 after buying an additional 161,485 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in LPL Financial by 1,732.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,055,000 after buying an additional 537,272 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,951,000 after purchasing an additional 35,088 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 498,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,446,000 after purchasing an additional 31,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $264.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.11. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $274.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.