Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 87,090 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its LPL Financial stake by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 87,090 shares and leaving it with 365,384 shares valued at about $130.5 million.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $5.60 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $398.86, even as some firms trimmed their targets.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 365,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,090 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.46% of LPL Financial worth $130,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,407,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $288.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $302.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.95.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,420. The trade was a 28.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 4,879 shares of company stock worth $1,538,826 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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