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

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the recipient of a large 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 daily volume of 671,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,851,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $271,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $6,821,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in LPL Financial by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 231,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,587,000 after buying an additional 63,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 143.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,681,000 after buying an additional 10,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $324.81. 157,928 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 775,729. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $352.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.26. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.