StockNews.com Downgrades LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) to Sell

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LPLA. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $342.54 on Wednesday. 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 $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $352.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.86. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $384.04.

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

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew 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 buying an additional 650,675 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,032,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,757,000 after buying an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.