Holocene Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 298,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,425 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $99,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $289.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The company has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $345.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. UBS Group set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.