AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,802 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $14,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 491,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,364,000 after acquiring an additional 61,551 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in LPL Financial by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,389,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $21.43 on Friday, reaching $360.42. 1,110,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 826,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $320.64 and a 200 day moving average of $328.89. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.50.

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.