LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Short Interest Update

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA – Get Rating) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the February 13th total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 696,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LPLA shares. UBS Group lowered LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $258.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $259.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.88.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 20,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.30, for a total value of $4,979,833.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,031,213.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sallie R. Larsen sold 20,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.84, for a total transaction of $4,962,314.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,938,381.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 20,810 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.30, for a total transaction of $4,979,833.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,031,213.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,693 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,455. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.5% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,836,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,056,630,000 after purchasing an additional 338,360 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 21.2% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 28,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after buying an additional 4,924 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 39,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,322,000 after buying an additional 15,093 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 10,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.89% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $195.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.02 and a 200-day moving average of $232.46. LPL Financial has a one year low of $165.46 and a one year high of $271.56.

LPL Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 13th. This is a positive change from LPL Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.60%.

About LPL Financial

(Get Rating)

LPL Financial Holdings, Inc serves independent financial advisors and financial institutions, providing them with the technology, research, clearing and compliance services, and practice management programs they need to create and grow their practices. It provides objective financial guidance to millions of American families seeking wealth management, retirement planning, financial planning and asset management solutions.