Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 22,325 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,325 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $26,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 29.4% during the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities set a $475.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial upgraded LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.00.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of LPLA opened at $353.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.63. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $344.62 and a 200-day moving average of $361.75.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,959,260.20. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,336,675. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.