LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on LPLA. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

LPL Financial stock traded up $6.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $328.29. 772,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,614. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The company has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.00.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after acquiring an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.