LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Clarkston Capital Partners LLC has decreased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 22.7%, selling 198,056 shares to hold a total of 674,227 shares, representing about 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Natixis and Stifel Financial Corp, have recently added to their positions in LPL Financial, indicating ongoing interest in the stock despite Clarkston's reduction.
• LPL Financial reported a Q2 EPS of $4.51, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.30, with revenues up 30.8% year-over-year, signaling strong business performance.

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 674,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 198,056 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up about 4.4% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.85% of LPL Financial worth $220,567,000 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. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $121,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,523,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 165,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,969,000 after buying an additional 42,460 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $7,004,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $9,795,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup cut shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $355.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.41 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $374.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $355.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company 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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