LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,996 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,762,581,000 after purchasing an additional 317,002 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in LPL Financial by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after buying an additional 627,546 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $874,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 20.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,453,000 after buying an additional 383,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,768. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.58 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $281.51 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $308.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.06% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

LPL Financial Profile

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.