WCM Investment Management LLC Has $536.78 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

WCM Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,641,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,053 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 2.19% of LPL Financial worth $536,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $422,000. Sanchez Wealth Management Group grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LPLA. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $4.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $367.32. 371,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 620,386. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $342.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.10. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $375.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

LPL Financial Profile

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.