663 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Bought by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $295,982,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $313.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.37 and a 200 day moving average of $301.68.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.