Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 86,890 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 86,890 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $324.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $322.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

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

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.