LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Short Interest Down 19.7% in October

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 907,300 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the October 15th total of 1,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 846,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $314.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $250.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.18. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $322.03. The stock has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.