Palestra Capital Management LLC Buys 70,924 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Palestra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 21.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 399,210 shares valued at $130.6 million.
• Insiders at LPL Financial sold a total of 3,080 shares valued at $1.16 million in the last ninety days, representing a 1.30% stake owned by insiders.
• Several analysts upgraded LPL Financial's ratings, with Redburn Atlantic raising its target price from $420.00 to $460.00, reflecting a strong market sentiment towards the stock.

Palestra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,924 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for approximately 5.1% of Palestra Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Palestra Capital Management LLC owned about 0.50% of LPL Financial worth $130,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 8.9% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 8.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,304,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,846,000 after purchasing an additional 105,665 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 2,319.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,959,260.20. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock traded up $5.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $347.71. The company had a trading volume of 793,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 820,778. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $369.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $354.27. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.50 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.66. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.88 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Citigroup cut shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.33.

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.