LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $376.11 and last traded at $373.98, with a volume of 581964 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $372.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $343.93 and its 200 day moving average is $284.71.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.