Marshall Wace LLP Reduces Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 359,078 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.67% of LPL Financial worth $164,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its stake in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 1.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,111 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 57.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $305,747,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded down $11.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $294.62. The company had a trading volume of 140,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,527. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $334.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.30. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.83.

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.