Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 337,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,641 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $110,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,740,000 after buying an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,126 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $360.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $320.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 4.5% 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 fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.50.

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.