Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 193,500 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 82.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193,500 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 31.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,227,000 after acquiring an additional 183,755 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 52.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,285,000 after acquiring an additional 164,586 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $40,004,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $326.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $260.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.81. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $327.55.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.02%.

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.