Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 27,231 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 452,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,231 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $147,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $371.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $351.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

LPL Financial Company 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.