LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 20th

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th.

LPL Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. LPL Financial has a payout ratio of 6.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect LPL Financial to earn $19.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.3%.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ LPLA traded up $4.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $270.14. 85,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 536,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $276.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $264.62 and its 200-day moving average is $242.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 56.36% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.20.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,798,037.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 7,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.66, for a total value of $1,883,263.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,377,676.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.