LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,193 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.35% of LPL Financial worth $99,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $288.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.76. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.