Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 39,260 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,260 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $110,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $9,795,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 491,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,364,000 after purchasing an additional 61,551 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $490.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities raised their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $383.58.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $362.44 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $373.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.41 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About LPL Financial

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.