HMI Capital Management L.P. Invests $33.41 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• HMI Capital Management acquired 118,600 LPL Financial shares worth approximately $33.41 million, making LPL about 4.7% of its portfolio and its 10th-largest holding.
• Institutional investors own 95.66% of LPL, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $406.69.
• LPL exceeded quarterly expectations with $5.84 in earnings per share and $5.19 billion in revenue, up 35.2% year over year; company directors sold a combined 5,427 shares worth about $1.91 million over the past 90 days.

HMI Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 118,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,407,000. LPL Financial accounts for about 4.7% of HMI Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. HMI Capital Management L.P. owned 0.15% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,204,000 after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,998,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $371,616,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,713,000 after buying an additional 57,362 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $406.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. This represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $364.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $327.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.28. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $400.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 9.57%.

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.

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