Eminence Capital LP Purchases 36,032 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 587,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,032 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for approximately 2.4% of Eminence Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Eminence Capital LP’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $195,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 912.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2%

LPLA opened at $289.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $345.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.