HBK Investments L P Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• HBK Investments L P has acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc., purchasing 10,000 shares valued at approximately $3.27 million according to its SEC Form 13F filing.
• The financial services provider reported a better-than-expected Q4 earnings with an EPS of $4.51, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.21.
• Analysts have mixed views on LPL Financial, with target prices ranging significantly; Wells Fargo increased its target to $420.00 while Citigroup lowered its target to just $80.00.

HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,271,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,372,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,956,000 after purchasing an additional 154,200 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $996,032,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $877,264,000 after purchasing an additional 20,881 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 224.1% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,964,000 after purchasing an additional 400,352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,080 shares of company stock valued at $1,163,920. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen lowered LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.33.

LPL Financial Trading Down 7.5%

LPLA traded down $27.05 on Friday, hitting $332.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,643,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,539. The firm has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.41 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $371.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.05. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.LPL Financial's revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

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.