Teca Partners LP Grows Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Teca Partners LP raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,710 shares during the period. LPL Financial makes up about 10.2% of Teca Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Teca Partners LP owned about 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $16,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank grew its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $3.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $292.69. 194,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,083. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $346.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.21.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. TD Cowen dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial 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.