Egerton Capital UK LLP Makes New $91.01 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 254,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $91,012,000. LPL Financial makes up approximately 1.0% of Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,581,000 after buying an additional 317,002 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after buying an additional 477,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after buying an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 23.2% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after buying an additional 627,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,453,000 after buying an additional 383,466 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total value of $336,975.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,667 shares of company stock worth $855,871. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $288.49 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.74. The stock has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group raised their target price on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Company 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.