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

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $428.7143.

LPLA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp set a $475.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $327.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $364.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total transaction of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,184 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $450,493,000. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in LPL Financial by 77.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after buying an additional 1,178,249 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,952 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $402,312,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.