Brokerages Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Target Price at $405.79

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $405.7857.

Several research firms recently issued reports on LPLA. Truist Financial assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $389.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,397.52. This trade represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,735 shares of company stock worth $2,020,845. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LPLA opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $400.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $346.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.14.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 24.06 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.57%.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPLA) is the parent company of LPL Financial LLC, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser that provides services and support to financial advisors. Rather than operating primarily through a proprietary branch network, LPL enables independent financial professionals, registered investment advisers, and advisors affiliated with banks and credit unions to operate their own practices while accessing investment products, technology, and business resources.

The company’s platform supports brokerage and fee-based advisory services, retirement plan services, insurance and annuity products, alternative investments, cash management, research, compliance, and practice management.