Key Points
- Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 LPL Financial shares for approximately $1.46 million, reducing his ownership by 14.86% to 23,602 shares.
- LPL Financial reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.84 and revenue of $5.19 billion, up 35.2% year over year.
- Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $406.69; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the sale, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.
LPL Financial Stock Up 2.1%
LPL Financial stock opened at $361.35 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $400.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's fifty day moving average is $326.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.
LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.51 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.
LPL Financial Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.57%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.69.
Get Our Latest Report on LPLA
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 113.5% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 5,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 40.0% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $9,364,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 126.3% during the second quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About LPL Financial
(
Get Free Report)
LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.
The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.
Further Reading

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].