Short Interest in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Grows By 21.2%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the March 15th total of 1,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 535,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $268.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,419.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 36.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in LPL Financial by 176.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $263.00. The company had a trading volume of 620,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,604. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.18. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $274.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.55 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 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.79%.

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.

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