Perpetual Ltd Makes New $36.23 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 101,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,229,000. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.13% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in LPL Financial by 77.3% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,249 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,242,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,698,000 after purchasing an additional 800,171 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 444.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,825,000 after purchasing an additional 450,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,453,000 after buying an additional 383,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $293.67 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $323.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.65. The firm has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm 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 34.19%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

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

LPL Financial 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.