Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Invests $9.80 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,795,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $868,757,000 after acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,290,000 after acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities cut their price target on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $314.54 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $327.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.58. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.