Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Buys 14,994 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,994 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of LPL Financial worth $18,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after acquiring an additional 36,474 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $305,747,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $295,982,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

LPLA stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is 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.