Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 767 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 36.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 29.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 176.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

LPLA stock opened at $262.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $274.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $262.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

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.