Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 432 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 147,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,405,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in LPL Financial by 500.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 126,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,487,000 after purchasing an additional 49,909 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam grew its position in LPL Financial by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 42,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,788,000 after purchasing an additional 14,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $289.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.23.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $252.20 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $289.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.32 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.73 and its 200-day moving average is $248.32.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.06%.

About LPL Financial

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.