OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Cuts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,477 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% in 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 buying an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $868,757,000 after acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities upped their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $374.42.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ LPLA traded up $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $384.61. 421,000 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 836,541. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $326.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company 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.