LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

Key Points

• $0.30 quarterly dividend: LPL declared a $0.30 per share quarterly dividend payable June 4 to holders of record May 21 (ex-dividend May 21), equal to a $1.20 annualized payout and roughly a 0.4% yield.
• Dividend coverage strong: The company’s payout ratio is about 5.3%, and analysts forecast ~$28.29 EPS next year (implying a future payout ratio near 4.2%), suggesting the dividend is comfortably covered by earnings.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: LPL reported Q4 EPS of $5.60 (vs. $5.49 expected) and revenue of $4.94 billion (vs. $4.51 billion expected), with revenue up 34.6% year‑over‑year.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, June 4th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st.

LPL Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. LPL Financial has a payout ratio of 5.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect LPL Financial to earn $28.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.2%.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $336.20 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $308.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $281.51 and a 1 year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.51 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total value of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $593,663,000 after acquiring an additional 12,214 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 41.5% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.6% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 24.5% in the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 187,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,537,000 after purchasing an additional 36,950 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $1,975,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

About LPL Financial

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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