Gladius Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 42.9% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 50,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,882,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 34,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 228.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 55,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,707,000 after purchasing an additional 38,839 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 74,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.20.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $264.82. The stock had a trading volume of 393,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,380. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.35 and a 52-week high of $276.12. The company has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $264.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.23.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.06%.

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.