LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Integrated Investment Consultants LLC

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lessened its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,985 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter worth $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $293.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 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 Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.41.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.