LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Position Raised by Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,950 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises approximately 3.3% of Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. owned approximately 0.23% of LPL Financial worth $62,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 72.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $431.80.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $334.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $368.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 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.