XML Financial LLC Sells 405 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

XML Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.50.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $356.79 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $361.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $329.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.38.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.