LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,254 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $10,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 13,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,389,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 24,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 35.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,964,000 after purchasing an additional 400,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 30.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related 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 transaction of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,889,830.60. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $372.15.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $3.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $380.04. 548,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,455. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $377.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.67. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $396.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 46.34% and a net margin of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.