LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Position Cut by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 72.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,249 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

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

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $297.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $301.50 and a 200-day moving average of $327.23. The firm has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $403.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

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.