LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $322.75.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth about $2,633,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its position in LPL Financial by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 217,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,586,000 after purchasing an additional 88,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $335.91 on Friday. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $336.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

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.