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

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $351.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $356.79 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $361.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $329.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.38. The company has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 16.15 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 32.3% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by 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.