Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 55,806 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP decreased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 44.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 55,806 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $16,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in LPL Financial by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 31,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 10,756 shares during the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12,785.9% during the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 234,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,382,000 after buying an additional 232,704 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,446,000 after acquiring an additional 48,439 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $274.38.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $238.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $289.88. The firm has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 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.