LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,450 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $22,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 77.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,249 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $402,312,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LPL Financial by 61.1% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,745,000 after buying an additional 926,122 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after buying an additional 613,909 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $312.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $350.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $351.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

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

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.