LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Brant Point Investment Management LLC

Brant Point Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,575 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises about 0.9% of Brant Point Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Brant Point Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $295.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $301.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $329.73. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-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. The firm has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial 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.