Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Has $2.68 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,971 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $371,616,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after purchasing an additional 627,546 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $285.44 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

LPL Financial 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.