Cantillon Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 369,068 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Cantillon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 369,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $131,820,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.5% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 187,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,537,000 after buying an additional 36,950 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,975,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in LPL Financial by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,328,475,000 after acquiring an additional 477,094 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,583,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,179 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $288.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $302.79 and a 200-day moving average of $331.74. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st 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 was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the 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 directly owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,667 shares of company stock worth $855,871 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.