LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) PT Lowered to $271.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $289.00 to $271.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $275.69.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $230.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.43. The firm has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $289.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after purchasing an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,245,000 after buying an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,586,000 after buying an additional 275,286 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12,785.9% in the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 234,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,382,000 after acquiring an additional 232,704 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.