LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shot up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $369.84 and last traded at $369.20. 73,494 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 693,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.86. The stock has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’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 represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.