Commerce Bank Sells 3,184 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 16.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,184 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $5,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,620 shares in the company, valued at $7,889,830.60. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.08.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $369.91 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $378.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.03. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 47.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

LPL Financial Company 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.