Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 87.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,490 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in LPL Financial by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,004,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $266,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 15,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 28,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $308.16 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $309.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $239.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.06. The company has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 52.08%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.03 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

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.