Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Trims Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,620 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $293.27 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.