Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 68,418 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has reduced its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 17.2%, selling 68,418 shares to own approximately 329,178 shares valued at $107.7 million.
• Several large investors have also adjusted their positions in LPL Financial, with 95.66% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• LPL Financial reported earnings of $4.51 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share to be paid on August 29.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 329,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,418 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.41% of LPL Financial worth $107,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.9% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 63.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 123.1% during the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $366.00. 658,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $372.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.67. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.41 and a 52 week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. LPL Financial's revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial 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.