LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.22 EPS

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 54.38% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock traded down $17.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.24. 2,638,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,948. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.65. The company has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.90. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $200.18 and a 12-month high of $289.88.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.55.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% 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.