Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 9,902 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors initiated a position in LPL Financial during the second quarter, purchasing 9,902 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.66% of the company.
• LPL Financial reported quarterly earnings of $5.84 per share, exceeding estimates of $5.39, while revenue rose 35.2% year over year to $5.19 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $406.69.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to an annualized $1.20 payout and a 0.3% yield. Insiders sold 5,427 shares worth about $1.91 million over the past 90 days.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,789,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,204,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,998,000 after buying an additional 6,630 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $371,616,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in LPL Financial by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,713,000 after buying an additional 57,362 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,628,039.12. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LPLA. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $406.69.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $361.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $329.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.09. The company has a market capitalization of $28.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm's revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.51 EPS. Analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.57%.

About LPL Financial

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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