LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Lifted to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $285.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $235.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.39% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $289.00 to $271.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.23.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $238.71 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $289.88. The company has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The business’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after buying an additional 48,439 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,509 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after acquiring an additional 88,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,103,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,586,000 after purchasing an additional 275,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.