EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 183 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,982,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,946,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 2,922.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 470,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,495,000 after purchasing an additional 454,553 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Up 4.5%

LPL Financial stock opened at $376.75 on Tuesday. 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 Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $321.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.42.

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.