Boston Partners Has $1.15 Billion Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 10%, holding 3,514,283 shares after selling 391,258 shares, making it the firm's 5th largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Janus Henderson Group PLC, have also adjusted their holdings in LPL Financial, with institutional investors owning 95.66% of the stock.
• LPL Financial reported earnings of $4.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, reflecting a low payout ratio of 8.21%.

Boston Partners cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,514,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 391,258 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for about 1.4% of Boston Partners' holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Boston Partners owned about 4.43% of LPL Financial worth $1,147,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,372,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,956,000 after acquiring an additional 154,200 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $868,757,000 after acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 35.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,964,000 after acquiring an additional 400,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 8.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,304,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,846,000 after acquiring an additional 105,665 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen lowered LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $4.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $350.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 506,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,077. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.41 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $375.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%. The company's revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% 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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company 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.