Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Decreases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its stake in LPL by 63.4% in Q3, selling 5,597 shares and leaving it with 3,232 shares valued at about $1.075 million.
• LPL beat Q4 estimates (EPS $5.23 vs. $4.82, revenue $4.93B) and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $428.71 (several firms raised targets, UBS at $500).
• The company declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.20, 0.4% yield) while insiders sold roughly 6,990 shares in the past 90 days and institutional ownership stands at about 95.66%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 63.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,597 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Camden National Bank boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $302.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $348.24 and a 200-day moving average of $350.63. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Company 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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