Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 25,132 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,132 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $735,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 94,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,065,000 after acquiring an additional 29,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $327.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.43.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.