CGN Advisors LLC Sells 444 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

CGN Advisors LLC lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. CGN Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after buying an additional 223,931 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8 %

LPLA opened at $348.93 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $350.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.93.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

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.