LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $351.50.

Several analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $338.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $326.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.91. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $344.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 9.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,581,000 after buying an additional 36,474 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after buying an additional 88,635 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.