LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises about 1.6% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,004,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 96.8% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $205,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $2,063,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents 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 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $371.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.