Emerald Advisers LLC Reduces Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Emerald Advisers LLC trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 526 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $295,982,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $327.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $351.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.05. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

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.