LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Sold by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 63.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 92,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160,503 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $34,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in LPL Financial by 5.4% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 551,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,830,000 after purchasing an additional 28,479 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,191.6% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 40,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,348,000 after buying an additional 37,763 shares during the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $322,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in LPL Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,967,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in LPL Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 222,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,423,000 after acquiring an additional 57,228 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $380.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $353.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $360.98. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total value of $564,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,785,729.10. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,138 shares of company stock worth $2,983,353. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild Redb lowered LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $453.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.86.

About LPL Financial

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.