LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Sells $1,652,001.16 in Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This trade represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $371.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $352.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.52. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 8.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

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.