LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) traded down 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $374.83 and last traded at $376.07. 272,785 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 614,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $383.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LPLA. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $295,982,000. Boston Partners raised its position in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $996,032,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

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.