LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Holdings Cut by Vident Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 22.0% in Q1, selling 776 shares, while retaining a total of 2,750 shares valued at approximately $900,000.
• LPL Financial reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.30, and showed a significant 30.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• A recent dividend of $0.30 was paid to shareholders, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 8.21%.

Vident Advisory LLC decreased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 776 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 1st 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,032,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $877,264,000 after buying an additional 20,881 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in LPL Financial by 224.1% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,385,000 after buying an additional 1,053,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,964,000 after buying an additional 400,352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $360.04 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.41 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $371.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.66.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup downgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock worth $1,163,920 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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