Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in 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 fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,994 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $18,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 6,865 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in LPL Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,331,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in LPL Financial by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $336.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.