Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Has $3.28 Million Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,015 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $3,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $342.54 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $352.40 and its 200 day moving average is $309.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

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.