LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Sells 4,119 Shares

Key Points

• Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 LPL Financial shares at an average price of $355.38, generating approximately $1.46 million and reducing his stake by 14.86% to 23,602 shares.
• LPL Financial reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.84 and revenue of $5.19 billion; revenue increased 35.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $406.69, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $7.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $361.35. 477,070 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 929,650. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $400.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $325.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.54. The company has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 9.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 580.0% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $454.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.69.

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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