Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $6.26 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,740,000 after acquiring an additional 14,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $371.93 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04. 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 capitalization of $27.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $348.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.33.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

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.