Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,983 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was 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 quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $319.20 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $353.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.31. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

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.