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

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

LPL Financial Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $300.38 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.58. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $357.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.22.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

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.