Commerce Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 16.9%, selling 3,184 shares, and now holds a total of 15,632 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million.
• Insider trading activity included Director Greg Gates selling 1,500 shares for around $573,945, leading to a 6.78% decrease in his ownership position.
• Analysts have varied ratings for LPL Financial, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $420 and Citigroup downgrading it to a sell with a target of $80.

Commerce Bank cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,184 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,883,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Lynwood Price Capital Management LP lifted its position in LPL Financial by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. Lynwood Price Capital Management LP now owns 52,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,175,000 after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at about $787,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.1% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 60,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 16.4% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen cut LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,620 shares in the company, valued at $7,889,830.60. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LPLA traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $375.74. 47,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 820,909. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $378.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.27.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 47.01% and a net margin of 7.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

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.