Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 16.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 498,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100,149 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises 3.6% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $165,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $313.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $351.42 and a 200 day moving average of $351.69. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

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.