New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,838,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 34,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 5,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $260.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.33. The stock has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.00 and a fifty-two week high of $274.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.79%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,419.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.36.

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.