Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 206,770 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 575,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 206,770 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up about 0.8% of Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.72% of LPL Financial worth $191,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,888 shares of company stock worth $2,182,893 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $318.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $359.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.58. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

About LPL Financial

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.