LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 774,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,876 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $216,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after purchasing an additional 48,439 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 33.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,586,000 after buying an additional 275,286 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 970,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,472,000 after buying an additional 23,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 927,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,011,000 after acquiring an additional 153,072 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $275.27.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $220.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $289.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $217.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.25.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.