Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $889,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded up $3.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $313.81. 454,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,057. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $337.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.83.

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.