LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives $286.92 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $286.92.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

LPL Financial Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $273.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $291.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $235.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 52.08%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 15.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.