Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 6,819 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,819 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $323.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.31. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $326.76. The company has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.