Korea Investment CORP Sells 3,372 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,372 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $21,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after purchasing an additional 613,909 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.7% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,679,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,379,598,000 after purchasing an additional 165,201 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $877,264,000 after purchasing an additional 20,881 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 61.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,745,000 after purchasing an additional 926,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.8% in the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,730,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,664,000 after buying an additional 95,423 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total transaction of $564,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $5,785,729.10. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,336,675. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 target price for the company. Rothschild Redb cut LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ 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 stock 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’s 50-day moving average is $345.02 and its 200 day moving average is $361.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

About LPL Financial

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.