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

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, an increase of 58.4% from the February 13th total of 757,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 671,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded up $13.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $321.99. 1,109,574 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 789,303. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.67. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value 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 $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in LPL Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% 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.