Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 54,149 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 408,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,149 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $122,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $328.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.14. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm’s revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.92.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.