LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 52-Week High at $275.00

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $275.00 and last traded at $272.55, with a volume of 58111 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $273.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.00.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $264.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.25.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,419.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 286.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,553,000 after purchasing an additional 613,792 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,732.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,055,000 after purchasing an additional 537,272 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,245,000 after buying an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in LPL Financial by 358.2% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,604,000 after buying an additional 357,245 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.