Pitcairn Co. Sells 548 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 8.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares in 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 firms recently issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $326.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.18. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $327.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.02%.

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.