Sculptor Capital LP Makes New $6.54 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Sculptor Capital LP has acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings worth approximately $6.54 million, buying 20,000 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• The stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with ten analysts rating it as a Buy and others downgrading it recently, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $383.58.
• LPL Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, indicating a 0.3% dividend yield and a low payout ratio of 8.21%.

Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,543,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.3% in the first quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 442,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,738,000 after acquiring an additional 26,249 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $167,000. Siren L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,454,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its position in LPL Financial by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 7,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,613,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in LPL Financial by 1,246.5% in the 1st quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.33.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $6.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $356.33. The company had a trading volume of 460,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,915. The company's fifty day moving average price is $371.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.46. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.41 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.