LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

LPL Financial stock opened at $328.29 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.00. 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 capitalization of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $7,851,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $6,821,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 231,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,587,000 after purchasing an additional 63,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 143.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,681,000 after purchasing an additional 10,266 shares in the last quarter. 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.