LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,104,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 297,800 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.38% of LPL Financial worth $367,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,747,538 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of LPLA opened at $361.93 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $28.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $358.84. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial raised LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $406.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.07.

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.