Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,847 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $15,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $295.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $301.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Profile

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.