Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys 50,100 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management increased its LPL Financial stake by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 50,100 more shares and bringing its total holding to 625,562 shares worth about $223.4 million.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $5.60 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 34.6% from a year earlier to $4.94 billion.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $398.86, though shares recently traded below that level at $291.84.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 50,100 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises 0.9% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.78% of LPL Financial worth $223,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $291.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,538,826 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial NASDAQ: LPLA is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm's product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LPLA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.