Short Interest in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Expands By 5.9%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the February 14th total of 1,010,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 629,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 164.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, December 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on LPL Financial from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on LPL Financial from $300.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $224.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.64.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $269.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $251.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $271.99.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.79%.

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.