Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 39,260 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 10.4%, now owning approximately 339,001 shares valued at $110.9 million.
• Institutional investors own approximately 95.66% of LPL Financial's stock, with several hedge funds, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Merit Financial Group LLC, increasing their stakes in the company recently.
• LPL Financial reported a quarterly EPS of $4.51, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.3%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,260 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.43% of LPL Financial worth $110,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $1.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $366.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 658,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $372.56 and a 200 day moving average of $355.67. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $204.41 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.88 EPS. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.58.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.