TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target dropped by TD Cowen from $399.00 to $378.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.63% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $406.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $440.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their price target on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.47.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $361.29. The stock had a trading volume of 678,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 593,564. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $358.40. 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 firm has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.57. LPL Financial has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,344.96. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,747,538. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,762,581,000 after purchasing an additional 317,002 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.7% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,679,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,379,598,000 after buying an additional 165,201 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in LPL Financial by 23.2% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after purchasing an additional 627,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $874,493,000 after buying an additional 2,612,184 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting LPL Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat — Adjusted EPS of $5.23 topped Street estimates ($4.82) and revenue of $4.93B beat expectations; adjusted EPS rose 23% YoY, signaling strong core profitability. GlobeNewswire: Q4 & FY2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Record asset base — Total advisory + brokerage assets rose to ~$2.4T (advisory assets +46% YoY), and organic net new assets remained positive ($23B in Q4; $147B for 2025), supporting recurring, fee‑based revenue. GlobeNewswire: Asset Metrics
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Board approved a $0.30 quarterly dividend (payable March 24, 2026), providing immediate shareholder return and signaling board confidence in cash flow. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Acquisition progress — Commonwealth conversion is on track for Q4 2026 with management expecting ~90% asset retention and ~ $425M run‑rate EBITDA; strategically positive long term but timing/retention execution risk remains. Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views and targets — Wall Street remains constructive overall (median targets well above current price), which can support a rebound if execution continues; see latest analyst forecast roundup. Analyst Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 expense outlook and integration costs — Management guided materially higher Core G&A when including Commonwealth (2026 Core G&A range including Commonwealth: $2.155–2.210B). That near‑term expense lift and large one‑time acquisition/integration costs drove investor concern and weighing on the stock. Investing.com: Shares Fall on Expense Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Operational signals to monitor — sequential slowdown in recruited assets and uneven quarterly organic NNA trends (Q4 organic NNA lower than some prior quarters) raise short‑term growth/retention questions as acquisitions are integrated. Earnings Call Transcript

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.