LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 1.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) dropped 1.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $374.83 and last traded at $376.07. Approximately 272,785 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 614,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $383.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.