California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,859 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of LPL Financial worth $32,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,945,000 after purchasing an additional 79,869 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,099,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,322,000 after acquiring an additional 161,485 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1,732.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,055,000 after acquiring an additional 537,272 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,951,000 after acquiring an additional 35,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 498,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,446,000 after acquiring an additional 31,402 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LPLA. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $268.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

LPLA traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $266.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,477. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $274.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $263.85 and its 200-day moving average is $241.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

LPL Financial 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.