WCM Investment Management LLC Acquires 12,922 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,734,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $520,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $121,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $324.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.96. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.71%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.92.

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.