LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $428.7143.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $308.70 on Friday. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $262.83 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $360.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $354.33.

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. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 35.99%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 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.