LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $274.06 and last traded at $272.32, with a volume of 31968 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $282.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Trading Down 5.9%

The company has a market cap of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $305.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $337.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 10.71%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at about $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.