Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,277 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $9,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% in the 3rd 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. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $318.59 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $359.51 and its 200 day moving average is $354.08. The stock has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp set a $475.00 target price on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

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.