Bain Capital Public Equity LP Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Bain Capital Public Equity LP has invested $226,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc., acquiring 692 shares, which represents 0.2% of their portfolio.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for LPL Financial, with new price targets ranging from $383.33 up to $490.00 from various firms.
• The company recently reported earnings of $4.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue increase of 30.8% year-over-year.

Bain Capital Public Equity LP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 692 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $226,000. LPL Financial comprises 0.2% of Bain Capital Public Equity LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,351 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,795,000 after purchasing an additional 971,814 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 786.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,849,000 after purchasing an additional 851,115 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 550.5% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 759,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $248,367,000 after purchasing an additional 642,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 238.1% during the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,026,000 after purchasing an additional 613,555 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.33.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $27.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $332.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,643,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,539. The company has a fifty day moving average of $371.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.41 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock valued at $1,163,920 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.