Arizona State Retirement System Trims Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in LPL Financial by 234.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in LPL Financial by 63.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,889,830.60. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $370.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $29.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $374.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.06. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.