LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives $426.79 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLAGet Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $426.7857.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild Redb lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays increased their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th.

View Our Latest Stock Report on LPLA

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,423,581.40. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,747,538. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $370.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $364.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $358.96. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.57.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLAGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 11.05%.

About LPL Financial

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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.

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