Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises about 1.1% of Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 50.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $358.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.38. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $361.63. The firm has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently 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.