LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Purchased by Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.

Key Points

• Coronation Fund Managers boosted its stake in LPL by 21.4% in Q4, adding 40,292 shares to hold 228,265 shares (~$81.53M), making LPL its 8th largest position and ~3.7% of its portfolio.
• Beat Q4 estimates: LPL reported $5.23 EPS vs. $4.82 expected and $4.93B revenue, with a 34.19% ROE, while analysts retain a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $401.93 amid several rating/target adjustments.
• Insider selling has occurred recently—8,569 shares (~$2.72M) sold in the last three months including transactions by a director and the CFO—while institutional ownership stands at 95.66% and insiders own 0.60%.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,292 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises approximately 3.7% of Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. owned about 0.29% of LPL Financial worth $81,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,768. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $406.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.93.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2%

LPLA stock opened at $320.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $281.51 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $308.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.19.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

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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