Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 137,204 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 564,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 137,204 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.70% of LPL Financial worth $187,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in LPL Financial by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,577,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,122,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 244.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 25,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,341,000 after purchasing an additional 17,801 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 126,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,522,000 after buying an additional 12,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 119,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $284.05 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $343.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.91.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.90%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.