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

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $391.5385.

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $405.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lowered LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total value of $507,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,959,260.20. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $799,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $342,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.0%

LPLA opened at $340.60 on Tuesday. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $222.74 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.83 and a 200-day moving average of $354.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The company has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

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.