LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Heron Bay Capital Management

Heron Bay Capital Management lowered its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 79,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,738 shares during the period. LPL Financial makes up approximately 4.9% of Heron Bay Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Heron Bay Capital Management’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $26,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 74.9% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 765,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,861,000 after purchasing an additional 327,580 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $316,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,663,000 after acquiring an additional 12,214 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 41.5% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.6% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $316.92 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $352.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

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.