Eminence Capital LP Has $195.50 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Eminence Capital increased its stake in LPL by 6.5% in Q3 to 587,624 shares, representing 0.73% of the company and valued at about $195.5 million (LPL is Eminence's 16th largest holding and 2.4% of its portfolio).
• LPL beat expectations in the latest quarter with EPS of $5.23 versus $4.82 expected and revenue of $4.93 billion (up 8.4% year-over-year), while reporting a 34.19% return on equity.
• LPL declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 ($1.20 annualized, ~0.4% yield) and insiders sold about 6,990 shares (~$2.2M) over the past 90 days; analysts' consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $428.71 price target.

Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 587,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,032 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for 2.4% of Eminence Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Eminence Capital LP owned 0.73% of LPL Financial worth $195,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $289.03 on Friday. 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 firm 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $345.43 and a 200-day moving average of $349.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,362,768. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $428.71.

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.

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