LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 86.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,689 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Down 4.3%

LPLA opened at $372.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $368.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $358.48. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict 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 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 is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.90%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial raised LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $433.56.

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.