American Century Companies Inc. Has $142.27 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 427,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 169,437 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.53% of LPL Financial worth $142,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $300.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $357.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,498 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,602 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.