Matthew J. Audette Sells 4,588 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $371.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $351.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.33. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,982,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,032,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently 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.