LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $344.86 and last traded at $338.76, with a volume of 32477 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $333.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $345.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.48. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after buying an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,684,000 after buying an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. 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.