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

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $430.7333.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $438.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the sale, the director owned 14,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,423,581.40. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,747,538 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 912.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $359.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $365.62 and a 200 day moving average of $358.95. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $262.83 and a 52 week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.