Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 4,681 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 9.2%, selling 4,681 shares and owning 45,968 shares, valued at approximately $15 million.
• Equities analysts have issued mixed ratings, with TD Cowen downgrading LPL Financial from "strong-buy" to "hold," while Wells Fargo raised its price target from $402 to $420.
• LPL Financial reported a Q4 EPS of $5.15, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, indicating a yield of 0.31%.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,681 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $15,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its position in 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 increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 104 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $25.82 on Friday, reaching $369.91. 3,277,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 826,002. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.67. The firm has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 46.34% and a net margin of 8.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.08.

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.