Royal Bank of Canada Sells 6,952 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,952 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.23% of LPL Financial worth $55,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,740,000 after buying an additional 14,106 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,561,000 after buying an additional 19,126 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,625,000 after buying an additional 13,936 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $384.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $328.88 and its 200-day moving average is $334.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.30%.

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.