Bamco Inc. NY Lowers Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Bamco Inc. NY reduced its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,582 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned about 0.26% of LPL Financial worth $69,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Capital World Investors grew its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,184 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 77.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,249 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $402,312,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,745,000 after purchasing an additional 926,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after purchasing an additional 613,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,768. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $289.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $345.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.59. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

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.