State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,525 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

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State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,525 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. TD Cowen downgraded LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.58.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $0.4210 on Friday, reaching $361.6610. The company's stock had a trading volume of 621,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,249. The company has a market capitalization of $28.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.41 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $373.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.75.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its 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 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The firm's revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% 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. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.