GW&K Investment Management LLC Makes New $17.59 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 53,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,592,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of LPL Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in LPL Financial by 234.5% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in LPL Financial by 63.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays upped their price target on LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities increased their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.15.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $380.04. 548,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,455. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $396.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $377.67 and a 200 day moving average of $353.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.30%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.