LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,675 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $18,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $302.96 on Thursday. 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 $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $348.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.63. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

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.