Korea Investment CORP Lowers Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,372 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of LPL Financial worth $21,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 74.9% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 765,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,861,000 after purchasing an additional 327,580 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $316,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,304,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,846,000 after buying an additional 105,665 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $1,514,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 354,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,808,000 after acquiring an additional 18,252 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $356.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $438.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.00.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total value of $564,645.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $5,785,729.10. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,675. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LPLA opened at $356.05 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.46.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.05%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.