Norden Group LLC Purchases Shares of 641 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $345.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $353.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.55. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.