Cibc World Market Inc. Lowers Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Cibc World Market Inc. decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 47.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,080 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $334.70 on Tuesday. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $367.40 and a 200 day moving average of $356.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of 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. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $431.80.

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.