LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) CFO Sells $152,584.46 in Stock

Key Points

• CFO Matthew Audette sold 469 shares on April 14 under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan for a total of $152,584.46, trimming his holding by 2.19% to 20,913 shares.
• Shares fell about 5.7% to $312.57 on higher volume; the company reported a Q4 EPS beat ($5.23 vs. $4.82) and 8.4% year‑over‑year revenue growth, with a market cap of $25.06 billion.
• LPL pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend ($1.20 annual, ~0.4% yield) and carries an analyst consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $401.93.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) CFO Matthew Audette sold 469 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.34, for a total value of $152,584.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 20,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,803,835.42. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

LPL Financial Trading Down 5.7%

LPLA traded down $18.84 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $312.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,157,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,636. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $281.51 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $313.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.35.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $401.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 37.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth $2,737,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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