LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 87.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,358 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $431.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $330.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $368.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $357.90. The firm has a market cap of $26.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.