BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $8.44 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,015 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $372.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $368.65 and its 200-day moving average is $358.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LPLA. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial upgraded LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $433.56.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.