LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 749,900 shares, a decrease of 30.6% from the November 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 768,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth about $182,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,815,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $330.23. The company had a trading volume of 299,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,808. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.97. LPL Financial has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $334.38. The firm has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.02%.

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.