LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Holdings Decreased by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Catalyst Capital Advisors cut its stake in LPL Financial by 68.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 2,485 shares valued at about $888,000.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $5.60 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable June 4, and analysts remain mostly bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $398.86.

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 68.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,475 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,762,581,000 after purchasing an additional 317,002 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in LPL Financial by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in LPL Financial by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after purchasing an additional 627,546 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,453,000 after purchasing an additional 383,466 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $273.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.18. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company's revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 10.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total value of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,768. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,538,826. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Profile

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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