Key Points
- CFO Matthew Audette sold 1,581 shares on Feb. 26 at $320.50 each for $506,710.50, trimming his stake by 6.88% to 21,382 shares (≈$6.85M) as disclosed in an SEC filing.
- LPL beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $5.23 vs. $4.82 and revenue of $4.93B vs. $4.90B, reporting a 34.19% ROE and 8.4% revenue growth, while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $428.71.
- The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share (annualized $1.20, yield 0.4%; ex-dividend Mar. 10, payable Mar. 24) and the stock is heavily institutionally owned (≈95.66%).
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) CFO Matthew Audette sold 1,581 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
LPL Financial Stock Performance
LPL Financial stock opened at $300.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.45. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $357.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.36.
LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
LPL Financial Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.90%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $450,493,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 77.3% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,249 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $407,538,000 after buying an additional 1,136,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $402,312,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $428.71.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on LPLA
About LPL Financial
(
Get Free Report)
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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