Banco BTG Pactual S.A. trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,971 shares during the quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Capital World Investors grew its stake 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 valued at $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $407,538,000 after buying an additional 1,136,952 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,616,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 23.2% in the third 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. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LPL Financial
LPL Financial Stock Performance
NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $285.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.97. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58.
LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.
LPL Financial Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend 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 presently 10.71%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About LPL Financial
(
Free Report)
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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