Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 2,900 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 31,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,409,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $387.69.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $378.83. The company had a trading volume of 314,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,290. The firm has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $352.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $344.10. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 46.34% and a net margin of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

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.