LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Position Lessened by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 474 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of LPL Financial worth $16,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.0 %

LPLA stock opened at $327.90 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.