Insider Selling: LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Sells 1,100 Shares of Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $361.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 386,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,018. The company has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. 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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during 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 lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.