Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 490,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,897 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.64% of LPL Financial worth $106,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 14.4% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 77,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,853,000 after purchasing an additional 9,764 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in LPL Financial by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 718,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,507 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 408,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in LPL Financial by 18.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 209,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,596,000 after purchasing an additional 32,069 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.3% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,929,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 1,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.37, for a total value of $429,174.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $400,710.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.03, for a total value of $88,260.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,884 shares in the company, valued at $36,475,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 1,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.37, for a total transaction of $429,174.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,802 shares in the company, valued at $400,710.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,583 shares of company stock valued at $3,017,039. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $277.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $282.00 to $284.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $232.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Sunday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $252.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.90.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $225.11 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.38. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $179.00 and a one year high of $257.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.91.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 60.49%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.14%.

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, retirement and education savings plans, fixed income, and insurance, as well as alternative investments, such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and auction rate notes.