State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,940 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $205.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $289.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.86 and its 200-day moving average is $253.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for 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%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.27.

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.