Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Decreases Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super cut its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 79.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,461 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,351 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,795,000 after purchasing an additional 971,814 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 786.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,849,000 after purchasing an additional 851,115 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 550.5% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 759,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $248,367,000 after buying an additional 642,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 238.1% in the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,026,000 after buying an additional 613,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,333,105 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $329.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.88. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.24 and a twelve month high of $403.58.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Rothschild Redb cut shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.85.

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.