Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 397,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,323 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $132,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 3.4%

LPL Financial stock opened at $385.14 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.83 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $369.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $358.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $431.80.

LPL Financial Company 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.