Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Has $436,000 Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 34.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 858 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $279.37 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.18 and a 12 month high of $289.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $275.94 and its 200-day moving average is $259.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 55.22% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

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.