LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Greg Gates Sells 750 Shares

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.42, for a total value of $235,815.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,304,265.40. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Greg Gates also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 5th, Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00.
• On Tuesday, August 5th, Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $349.77 and a 200 day moving average of $353.45. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.57 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 5,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Rothschild Redb cut LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $411.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $392.00.

LPL Financial Company 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.