JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $390.00 to $408.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 27.76% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.92.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.7%

LPL Financial stock traded up $2.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $319.35. 121,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 982,897. LPL Financial has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $403.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business’s revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 23.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 42.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.