LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Sells $235,815.00 in Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.42, for a total transaction of $235,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,304,265.40. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Greg Gates also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 5th, Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00.
• On Tuesday, August 5th, Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $315.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $347.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.94 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.5% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Camden National Bank increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 2.0% during the second quarter. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.85.

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.