Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 154 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanchez Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its stake in LPL Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $327.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 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.