Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 43.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,497 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 16,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 60.5% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 30,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,149,000 after purchasing an additional 11,447 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 205,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,392,000 after purchasing an additional 108,645 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 409.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,257 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 92.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 3,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.86, for a total transaction of $753,757.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,521.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on LPL Financial from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on LPL Financial from $232.00 to $233.00 in a report on Sunday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $246.00 to $253.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.60.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $242.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.00 and a fifty-two week high of $271.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 59.52% and a net margin of 12.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

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, retirement and education savings plans, fixed income, and insurance, as well as alternative investments, such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and auction rate notes.