First County Bank CT Sells 318 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

First County Bank CT lowered its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 318 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,633,000. 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 valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $335.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $319.81 and a 200 day moving average of $264.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $344.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $345.17.

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.