Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $61.68 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 188,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,971 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $61,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th 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. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group increased its stake 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 valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $384.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $390.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.42.

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.