State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 300 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Alliance boosted its position 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 position in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

LPLA opened at $333.90 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.03.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

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.