LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,547 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in LPL Financial were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 3.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $270.79 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $179.00 and a 52 week high of $276.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $264.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 56.36% and a net margin of 9.71%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.20.

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.