Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $6.96 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,747,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $295,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. 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 the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $351.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.