Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC Cuts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 270,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,411 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for approximately 1.1% of Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $101,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $356.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $453.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $427.86.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.7%

LPLA opened at $380.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $360.98.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total value of $564,645.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,785,729.10. This trade represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,983,353 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.