GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Takes Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,351 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 1,453.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,795,000 after buying an additional 971,814 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 786.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,849,000 after buying an additional 851,115 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in LPL Financial by 550.5% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 759,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,367,000 after buying an additional 642,503 shares during the period. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP grew its position in LPL Financial by 238.1% during the first quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 871,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,026,000 after buying an additional 613,555 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,080 shares of company stock worth $1,097,290. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Rothschild Redb downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.38.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $312.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. The company has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $355.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.80. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.21 and a 1 year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

LPL Financial Company 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.