LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $336.46, but opened at $364.54. LPL Financial shares last traded at $336.84, with a volume of 112,917 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $379.17.

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LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $353.69 and its 200 day moving average is $299.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $271,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,821,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 231,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,587,000 after acquiring an additional 63,100 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 143.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,681,000 after acquiring an additional 10,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.