Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 50%, owning 45,000 shares valued at approximately $14.72 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 95.66% of LPL Financial's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported from several major firms, including Dodge & Cox and Principal Financial Group.
• LPL Financial reported a 30.8% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $3.84 billion, and exceeded analysts' EPS estimates by reporting $4.51 for the last quarter.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 50.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $14,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 195.1% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.8% in 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 last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2,319.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $5.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $347.71. 793,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 782,637. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.09. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.50 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.88 earnings per share. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,959,260.20. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.33.

LPL Financial Company 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.