Fulton Bank N.A. Has $1.72 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $339.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $364.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.31. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.65 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on LPLA. Barclays reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup lowered LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $490.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.67.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,671,235 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.