Commerce Bank Reduces Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 88.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155,726 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LPLA. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $326.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $327.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $260.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.81.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

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, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.