LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.50.

LPL Financial Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $360.42 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.38. The company has a market cap of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.30%.

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.