LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Matthew Enyedi Sells 2,109 Shares

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA traded down $19.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $300.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,318,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 989,212. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.83 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $358.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.84. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.58.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citizens Jmp set a $475.00 target price on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,809,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. WealthPoint Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,568,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

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.