Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its LPL Financial stake by 43% in the first quarter, selling 12,439 shares and leaving it with 16,473 shares valued at about $4.96 million.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $5.60 topping estimates, though revenue of $4.94 billion came in slightly below forecasts.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $398.86, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 43.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,439 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $269.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $297.34 and a 200-day moving average of $324.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,887 shares of company stock worth $613,144. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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