Choreo LLC Lowers Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Choreo LLC reduced its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,128 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,498 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,602. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $311.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.83 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $353.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.25.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

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.