Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 46.0%, now holding approximately 60,137 shares valued at $19.7 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Janus Henderson Group PLC, increased their positions in LPL Financial, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors.
• LPL Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.51, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.30 per share scheduled for August 29th.

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,208 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.08% of LPL Financial worth $19,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Ten investment 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 data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.58.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $363.29. 44,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,831. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.41 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $372.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.66. The firm has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

About LPL Financial

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.