LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $268.36.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. 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 three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,446,000 after purchasing an additional 48,439 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,945,000 after purchasing an additional 79,869 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in LPL Financial by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,099,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,322,000 after purchasing an additional 161,485 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in LPL Financial by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,744,000 after purchasing an additional 181,594 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $200,497,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $264.29 on Tuesday. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $274.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $263.14 and a 200-day moving average of $241.11.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.79%.

About LPL Financial

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.