Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,326 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $996,032,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $868,757,000 after purchasing an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,946,000 after purchasing an additional 23,111 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $374.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of LPLA traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $384.20. The stock had a trading volume of 401,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,914. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $390.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. LPL Financial's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.