Citigroup Inc. Reduces Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 29.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,453 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $8,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after purchasing an additional 88,635 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 11.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 884,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,077,000 after purchasing an additional 90,020 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its position in LPL Financial by 9.5% in the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 783,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,773,000 after buying an additional 68,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,405,000 after buying an additional 59,819 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $325.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.81. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $330.72.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.92.

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.