LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Annex Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,255 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $348.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $350.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $327.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

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.