Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 67,077 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 97.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,077 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,946,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 16,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Strategic Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,207,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Wall Street Zen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities raised their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.50.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.3%

LPLA traded up $8.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $388.96. 419,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 838,193. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $341.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.67. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $390.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.67.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. 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 is 8.30%.

LPL Financial Company 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.