LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at Citizens Jmp

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by Citizens Jmp in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $500.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price target indicates a potential upside of 67.51% from the stock’s previous close.

LPLA has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.50.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.6%

LPLA opened at $298.50 on Monday. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $262.83 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $323.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $343.76.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 34.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,768. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,990 shares of company stock worth $2,201,837. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 550.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.