Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 43,179 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 95.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,179 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew 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 valued at $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in LPL Financial by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,227,000 after purchasing an additional 183,755 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 52.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,285,000 after purchasing an additional 164,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 927,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,011,000 after purchasing an additional 153,072 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $246.29 and a 200-day moving average of $250.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $321.92.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.