New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,276 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of LPL Financial worth $13,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 358.2% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,604,000 after acquiring an additional 357,245 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 524.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 273,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,912,000 after acquiring an additional 229,434 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,406,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 137.1% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 301,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,595,000 after acquiring an additional 174,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LPLA. Raymond James began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $276.00.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

LPL Financial stock traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $269.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 774,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,642. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $264.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 7,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.66, for a total transaction of $1,883,263.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,169 shares in the company, valued at $35,377,676.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.