LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $310.00 to $390.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.10% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.17.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $330.23 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $334.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $293.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 345.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 882.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,996,000 after purchasing an additional 77,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,000. 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.