Wedmont Private Capital Has $364,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Wedmont Private Capital reduced its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $289.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.23.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $248.09 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $289.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.