Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Decreases Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA – Get Rating) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 288,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,651 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $62,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,011,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,280,836,000 after buying an additional 93,283 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.5% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,836,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,056,630,000 after acquiring an additional 338,360 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,574,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,923,000 after purchasing an additional 248,255 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,699,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,064,000 after purchasing an additional 14,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,336,000 after purchasing an additional 860,943 shares during the last quarter. 94.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 38,444 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.20, for a total value of $9,464,912.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,132,440.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Michelle Oroschakoff sold 4,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.18, for a total value of $1,183,879.62. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,885.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 38,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.20, for a total value of $9,464,912.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,132,440.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,693 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,455. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $258.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $239.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.88.

LPL Financial Trading Down 12.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $202.70 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.53 and a 12-month high of $271.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $236.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.86. The company has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.95.

LPL Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from LPL Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 13th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.60%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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LPL Financial Holdings, Inc serves independent financial advisors and financial institutions, providing them with the technology, research, clearing and compliance services, and practice management programs they need to create and grow their practices. It provides objective financial guidance to millions of American families seeking wealth management, retirement planning, financial planning and asset management solutions.