Xponance Inc. Decreases Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 164.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 770.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 724.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $264.29 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $179.00 and a 12-month high of $274.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $263.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 7,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.66, for a total transaction of $1,883,263.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,377,676.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.36.

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.