Lone Pine Capital LLC Acquires 383,466 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 383,466 shares during the period. LPL Financial makes up 5.5% of Lone Pine Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned approximately 2.82% of LPL Financial worth $750,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on 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 reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,420. The trade was a 28.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.7%

LPL Financial stock opened at $284.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.91. The company has a market cap of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.