LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management reduced its stake in LPL Financial by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 58,510 shares and ending with 633,192 shares valued at about $226.2 million.
• Insiders also sold shares, including CFO Matthew J. Audette and Director Marc Eliot Cohen; insiders sold 4,879 shares worth about $1.54 million over the last three months.
• LPL Financial topped earnings expectations for Q1, reporting EPS of $5.60 versus the $5.49 estimate, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

TD Asset Management Inc cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 633,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,510 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.79% of LPL Financial worth $226,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew 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 worth $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $371,616,000. Dodge & Cox grew 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 worth $1,107,610,000 after purchasing an additional 627,546 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 worth $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of LPL Financial 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,768. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,879 shares of company stock worth $1,538,826 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Up 3.7%

LPLA stock opened at $282.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm's fifty day moving average is $303.20 and its 200 day moving average is $332.81. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The firm's revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

LPL Financial Company 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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