Analysts Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Target Price at $406.69

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $406.6923.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $370.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $400.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $319.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.61.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.51 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 24.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

About LPL Financial

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.