Darlington Partners Capital Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Darlington Partners Capital Management LP reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 938,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 161,382 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up 11.4% of Darlington Partners Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP owned 1.25% of LPL Financial worth $306,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.2% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,290,000 after purchasing an additional 405,341 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $371.50.

LPL Financial Trading Up 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $21.43 on Friday, reaching $360.42. 1,110,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 829,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $320.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.30%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

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

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.