Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,301 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.13% of LPL Financial worth $34,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $334.70 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $368.07 and its 200 day moving average is $357.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $475.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $431.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,423,581.40. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.