LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Stock Position Decreased by Iridian Asset Management LLC CT

Key Points

• Iridian Asset Management reduced its LPL Financial stake by 14% in the third quarter, selling 3,811 shares and retaining 23,436 shares valued at approximately $7.17 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 95.66%, with several major investors increasing or initiating positions, including BlackRock, Jupiter Topco, Janus Henderson, and Principal Financial.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $409.69 price target. LPL recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while its stock opened at $315.61.

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,811 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises approximately 2.6% of Iridian Asset Management LLC CT's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $1,182,595,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,103,079,000 after acquiring an additional 289,227 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $793,163,000 after acquiring an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,734,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $520,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $401.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Capital One Financial set a $370.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $362.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LPL Financial from $428.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $409.69.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.0%

LPL Financial stock opened at $315.61 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $400.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $337.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.53.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The business's revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,182,397.52. This represents a 4.80% 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 quarter, insiders sold 5,867 shares of company stock valued at $2,079,664. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc is a financial services company that supports independent financial advisors and institutions across the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, LPL Financial LLC, the company provides brokerage, investment advisory, and custodial services, enabling advisors to serve individual investors, families, retirement plans, and other clients.

LPL's platform includes access to brokerage and advisory products, securities clearing and custody, trading and operations support, technology, compliance services, investment research, and practice-management resources.

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