Picton Mahoney Asset Management Sells 79,957 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Picton Mahoney Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 97.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 79,957 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Camden National Bank raised its stake in LPL Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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 report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.1%

LPLA opened at $313.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $351.42 and its 200-day moving average is $351.72. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.