PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 301 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,744,000 after buying an additional 181,594 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 286.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,553,000 after buying an additional 613,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 799,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,041,000 after buying an additional 101,159 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.20.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $274.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $274.32 and a 200 day moving average of $257.55. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.89. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.18 and a 12 month high of $289.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 55.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.06%.

LPL Financial 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.