LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 40.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 286.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,553,000 after acquiring an additional 613,792 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,245,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12,785.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 234,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,382,000 after acquiring an additional 232,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 159.5% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 298,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,779,000 after acquiring an additional 183,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $227.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.17. The company has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.18 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 55.22%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.76 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $319.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.20.

LPL Financial Profile

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.