LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Matthew Audette Sells 1,110 Shares of Stock

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Matthew Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $312.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $312.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a market capitalization of $25.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $281.51 and a 52 week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ocean Park Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $21,519,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 37.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% in the first quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.93.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.