D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 10,585 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 184,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,585 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $60,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 6.3 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $360.42 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $320.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $328.89.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.50.

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.