LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 38.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,040 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1%

LPLA stock opened at $295.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $301.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.22. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.