Matthew J. Audette Sells 28,777 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $1.91 on Friday, reaching $369.14. The stock had a trading volume of 685,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,921. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $375.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $338.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.4 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.