LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Aneri Jambusaria Sells 308 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• LPL Financial director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares on June 17 at an average price of $306.00, totaling $94,248. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• After the transaction, Jambusaria directly owned 6,415 shares valued at about $1.96 million, which was a 4.58% reduction in ownership.
• LPL Financial recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with EPS of $5.60 versus estimates of $5.49, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA traded up $3.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $297.62. 730,789 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,337. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $327.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in LPL Financial by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,948,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,410,454,000 after buying an additional 619,715 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after acquiring an additional 477,094 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,103,079,000 after acquiring an additional 289,227 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,294,869,000 after acquiring an additional 996,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $793,163,000 after acquiring an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.86.

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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