LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Up 1.9% – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $369.84 and last traded at $369.20. Approximately 73,494 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 693,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $352.80 and its 200-day moving average is $295.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $12,663,312. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,032,000 after buying an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $868,757,000 after purchasing an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $475,946,000 after purchasing an additional 23,111 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.