LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Stake Cut by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,165 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.21% of LPL Financial worth $49,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 14.8% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 161,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,438,000 after acquiring an additional 20,758 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $60,142,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,756,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,333,189,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,182,595,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Up 4.6%

LPLA opened at $311.48 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $400.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $326.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.55.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 32.05%. The business had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.20 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.45 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 6.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $369.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LPL Financial from $362.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $557.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,774 shares in the company, valued at $617,139.12. The trade was a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc is a financial services company that supports independent financial advisors and institutions across the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, LPL Financial LLC, the company provides brokerage, investment advisory, and custodial services, enabling advisors to serve individual investors, families, retirement plans, and other clients.

LPL’s platform includes access to brokerage and advisory products, securities clearing and custody, trading and operations support, technology, compliance services, investment research, and practice-management resources.