GeoWealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

GeoWealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $300.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $331.26 and a 200-day moving average of $322.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 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.