Greg Gates Sells 1,500 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

Key Points

• Greg Gates, a director at LPL Financial, sold 1,500 shares at an average price of $374.05, totaling $561,075, which decreased his stock position by 7.27%.
• LPL Financial reported a 30.8% year-over-year increase in revenue for the recent quarter, beating estimates with $4.51 earnings per share compared to the expected $4.21.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.3%, with the payment scheduled for August 29th.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Greg Gates also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 3rd, Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock traded down $9.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $368.85. 554,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,595. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.22 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LPLA shares. JMP Securities lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. TD Cowen lowered LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.