Signaturefd LLC Sells 392 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Signaturefd LLC lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 770.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 724.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $266.32 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $179.00 and a 52-week high of $274.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $263.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.63. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.79%.

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.