US Bancorp DE Trims Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $336.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $353.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.74. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,770 shares of company stock worth $12,663,312 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.