LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Down 0.8%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) traded down 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $260.59 and last traded at $262.40. 80,843 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 520,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.83. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 11.8% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 5.9% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 64.8% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the first quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during 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.