Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.91 Billion Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,148,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155,210 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of LPL Financial worth $2,910,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock worth $2,720,733. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $333.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $281.51 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $308.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.63. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $369.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.93.

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.