Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 395 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $366.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $375.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given 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 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Citigroup upped their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.