Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 10,847 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Verition Fund Management increased its LPL Financial stake by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,847 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 44,139 shares worth about $15.8 million.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $5.60 versus estimates of $5.49, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, and analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $398.86.

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,847 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $15,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $295.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $301.85 and a 200 day moving average of $329.22.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 10.71%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.86.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial NASDAQ: LPLA is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.

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