IFM Investors Pty Ltd Reduces Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $889,000. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.9% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 9,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,824,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $506,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $266.32. The company had a trading volume of 394,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $179.00 and a 12-month high of $274.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $263.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James began coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.