Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 700 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. FMR LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after purchasing an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $348.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $350.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $327.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.93.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.50.

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.