Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Raises Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 109.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,988 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for about 0.2% of Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned about 0.25% of LPL Financial worth $60,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased 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 boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.50.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $360.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.38. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.30%.

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.