Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Has $60.71 Million Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 109.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 96,988 shares during the period. LPL Financial makes up about 0.2% of Hudson Bay Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned about 0.25% of LPL Financial worth $60,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $381.42. 742,839 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,903. The stock has a market cap of $30.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $323.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.40. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $374.42.

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.