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

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $280.40 and last traded at $280.8050, with a volume of 96175 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $283.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.65.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock worth $2,720,733 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $151,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 803,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,695,000 after purchasing an additional 7,257 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,079,000 after purchasing an additional 289,227 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,322,000 after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently 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.