New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $13,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $371.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $348.99 and its 200-day moving average is $291.00. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Citigroup boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.