WCM Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,734,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned about 2.17% of LPL Financial worth $520,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,538,000 after buying an additional 1,136,952 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,616,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after acquiring an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,163,000 after acquiring an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $324.90 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $293.42 and its 200 day moving average is $317.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.71%.

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.