HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 2,417 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $332.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $351.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 presently 8.55%.

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.