Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $918,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in LPL Financial by 286.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,553,000 after acquiring an additional 613,792 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,245,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 12,785.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 234,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,382,000 after acquiring an additional 232,704 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 159.5% in the 1st quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 298,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,779,000 after acquiring an additional 183,290 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $17.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $221.24. 2,638,501 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,948. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $200.18 and a 12-month high of $289.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $268.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 54.38% and a net margin of 8.91%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.55.

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.