Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 68.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 205,080 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for 2.2% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.12% of LPL Financial worth $29,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.92.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $323.32 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.06.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.