LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 37.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $293.27 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $23.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.50. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.