Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 41,655 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its stake in LPL Financial by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 41,655 shares and leaving it with 58,411 shares valued at about $20.9 million.
• LPL Financial reported strong quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $5.60 versus $5.49 expected, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $398.86.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,655 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.07% of LPL Financial worth $20,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Tobam increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 15,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,809,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPoint Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $282.15 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $300.36 and its 200 day moving average is $326.15. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,887 shares of company stock worth $613,144. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.86.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial NASDAQ: LPLA is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.

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