Lynwood Price Capital Management LP Invests $11.59 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Lynwood Price Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 35,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,591,000. LPL Financial accounts for 8.0% of Lynwood Price Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,633,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,971,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 48.2% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 2,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.42.

LPL Financial Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $312.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $349.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

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.