LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 1.9% during the 1st 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. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.27.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $205.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $221.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

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.