LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Short Interest Update

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

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $314.02. 402,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,722. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $252.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $322.03.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after buying an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.