LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 655,500 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 791,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 561,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $373.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $376.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $343.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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 predict that LPL Financial will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.