LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,759 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $295.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $301.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

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.