Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 155,210 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. sold 155,210 shares of LPL Financial in Q4 (a 1.9% reduction), leaving it with 8,148,558 shares — or 10.18% of the company valued at $2.91 billion; institutional investors own about 95.66% of LPL.
• LPL beat Q4 estimates (EPS $5.23 vs. $4.82; revenue $4.93B vs. $4.90B) and trades near $333.71 with a $26.76B market cap, while analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy and an average target of roughly $401.93 (targets vary widely).

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,148,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 155,210 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.18% of LPL Financial worth $2,910,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in LPL Financial by 23.2% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,107,610,000 after purchasing an additional 627,546 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 20.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $750,453,000 after purchasing an additional 383,466 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 23.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,970,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $655,418,000 after purchasing an additional 373,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $333.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.63. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $281.51 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $401.93.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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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