Pitcairn Co. Sells 2,485 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Pitcairn Co. decreased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,485 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $2,378,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 295.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 118,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,310,000 after acquiring an additional 88,302 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,308,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 198,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,199,000 after acquiring an additional 87,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 767,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,284,000 after purchasing an additional 259,740 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial 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 value of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $313.56 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $351.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.59.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LPLA. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

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.