MONECO Advisors LLC Has $708,000 Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MONECO Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 32.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $371.93 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $348.99 and its 200 day moving average is $291.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. 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. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Company 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.