Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 149.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in LPL Financial by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 106.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,386,000 after purchasing an additional 13,814 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of LPLA traded down $3.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.90. The company had a trading volume of 953,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,031. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.14. The stock has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.