LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $322.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 98.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $182,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 25.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $331.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $310.01 and a 200-day moving average of $262.31. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $336.40. The company has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.