Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,175 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of LPL Financial worth $56,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 60.6% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $366.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $340.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.51. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $375.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

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.