LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Short Interest Down 17.2% in January

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 655,500 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 791,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 561,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Citigroup raised 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 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 given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $373.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $343.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $284.71. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $376.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 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.