Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $7.43 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 26.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,955 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 74.9% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 765,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,861,000 after buying an additional 327,580 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $316,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,663,000 after acquiring an additional 12,214 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in LPL Financial by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $319.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.58. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $362.83 and a 200-day moving average of $355.22.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $421.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.