Short Interest in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Decreases By 15.1%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a drop of 15.1% from the March 31st total of 1,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 532,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.00.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

LPLA opened at $266.32 on Monday. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $274.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.