Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 462,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,248 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 0.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $165,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% in 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 stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $295.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $301.82 and a 200 day moving average of $329.73. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.