LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.27.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 74.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.0% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $210.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.14. The stock has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $289.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.94 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.06%.

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.