Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $358.78 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $361.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.