California Public Employees Retirement System Has $32.97 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,859 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of LPL Financial worth $32,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,945,000 after purchasing an additional 79,869 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in LPL Financial by 17.2% during 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in LPL Financial by 1,732.0% during 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $134,951,000 after buying an additional 35,088 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in LPL Financial by 6.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 498,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,446,000 after buying an additional 31,402 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,462.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $266.32 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $274.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.63.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.79%.

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.