Vinva Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 72.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,313 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $2,633,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% in the 4th 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 4th 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 period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $327.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $351.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

LPL Financial 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.