SCS Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc., purchasing 72,528 shares valued at approximately $23.7 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in LPL Financial, with ownership by institutional investors and hedge funds now at 95.66% of the company's stock.
• LPL Financial recently posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting an EPS of $4.51, exceeding projections by $0.30.

SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 72,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,727,000. SCS Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 63.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 have sold 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.64. 589,143 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 770,953. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50 day moving average is $367.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.98. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $205.50 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.67.

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.