BlueMar Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

BlueMar Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000. LPL Financial accounts for about 0.6% of BlueMar Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 36.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 29.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 21.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 176.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.84% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 3,265 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.86, for a total value of $753,757.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,303,521.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $240.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.47 and a 200 day moving average of $214.62. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $179.00 and a fifty-two week high of $271.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.07. LPL Financial had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 59.52%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $246.00 to $253.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $232.00 to $233.00 in a report on Sunday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $238.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.60.

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, retirement and education savings plans, fixed income, and insurance, as well as alternative investments, such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and auction rate notes.