Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Decreases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Southpoint Capital Advisors LP has reduced its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 33.3%, selling 200,000 shares to hold 400,000 shares, making it the fund's 14th largest holding.
• Institutional ownership of LPL Financial is significant, with approximately 95.66% of shares held by institutional investors, highlighting robust institutional interest.
• LPL Financial's recent earnings report showed a strong performance with $4.51 EPS, surpassing expectations, and a quarterly revenue increase of 30.8% year-over-year.

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP decreased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 200,000 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises approximately 3.1% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP owned 0.50% of LPL Financial worth $130,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,385,000 after buying an additional 1,053,351 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 1,453.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,795,000 after acquiring an additional 971,814 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 786.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,849,000 after acquiring an additional 851,115 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 238.1% during the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,026,000 after purchasing an additional 613,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth 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. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1%

LPLA opened at $364.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $204.41 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $371.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $355.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

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.

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