Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 9.3%, owning approximately 0.20% of the company after the sale.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in LPL Financial, with Principal Financial Group adding 1,453.3% to its holdings during the same period.
• LPL Financial recently reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, alongside a 30.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,285 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.20% of LPL Financial worth $51,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 354,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,808,000 after buying an additional 18,252 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $697,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 154,200 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $831,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $259,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $17.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $355.80. 1,547,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,627. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $376.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $356.00. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.20 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The company has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.66.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The company 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 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup cut shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.58.

About LPL Financial

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.