HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 352 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

LPLA opened at $334.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $351.17 and a 200 day moving average of $314.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The firm has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

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.