LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price traded up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $381.51 and last traded at $380.82. 243,669 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 635,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $27.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $348.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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%. As a group, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during 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 period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $996,032,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,757,000 after purchasing an additional 57,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,946,000 after purchasing an additional 23,111 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.