LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Short Interest Up 58.4% in February

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a growth of 58.4% from the February 13th total of 757,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 671,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,913,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $305,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at $31,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 175,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

LPLA stock traded up $5.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $332.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 769,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,833. The firm's 50-day moving average is $352.00 and its 200-day moving average is $305.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04. The company has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.