Deutsche Bank AG Sells 38,910 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Deutsche Bank AG cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 175,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,910 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.23% of LPL Financial worth $57,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 19,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,459,000 after buying an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,859,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,784,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 215,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,484,000 after buying an additional 18,286 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $3.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $384.61. 421,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 836,541. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $326.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $333.86. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $374.42.

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.