LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 1.7% After Insider Selling

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s share price was down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $362.57 and last traded at $363.01. Approximately 172,823 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 583,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.14.

Specifically, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This 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 is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.51. The company has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $295,982,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $84,145,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.