Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Sells 9,000 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC reduced its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 65.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners raised its position in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $996,032,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $868,757,000 after buying an additional 57,485 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $475,946,000 after buying an additional 23,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,290,000 after buying an additional 405,341 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.69.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $379.58. The stock had a trading volume of 405,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,797. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $356.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.24. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $390.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

LPL Financial 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.