Barclays PLC Has $17.14 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Barclays PLC lowered its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 60.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,782 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.07% of LPL Financial worth $17,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.6% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $182,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 98.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. StockNews.com cut LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities cut their price target on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.83.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $2.22 on Friday, hitting $313.62. The stock had a trading volume of 122,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,845. The company has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $328.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.96. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.