Maverick Capital Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 45.4%, now holding 320,780 shares valued at approximately $104.9 million.
• LPL Financial reported quarterly earnings of $4.51 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 30.8%.
• The firm recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Maverick Capital Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 45.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 266,941 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up about 1.9% of Maverick Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Maverick Capital Ltd. owned 0.40% of LPL Financial worth $104,940,000 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 LPLA. Dodge & Cox raised its position in LPL Financial by 224.1% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,351 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 1,453.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,795,000 after acquiring an additional 971,814 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 786.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $313,849,000 after acquiring an additional 851,115 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP raised its position in LPL Financial by 238.1% during the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,026,000 after acquiring an additional 613,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock traded up $3.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $360.04. 611,694 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,783. The company has a market cap of $28.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.41 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $371.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.47.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents 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 valued at $1,163,920 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.