LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 5.8% – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) fell 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $318.29 and last traded at $312.9320. 95,871 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 888,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their target price on LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $407.00.

LPL Financial Stock Down 8.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $350.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.56. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,774 shares in the company, valued at $617,139.12. This trade represents a 19.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,867 shares of company stock valued at $2,079,664 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,182,595,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,079,000 after buying an additional 289,227 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after acquiring an additional 996,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,163,000 after acquiring an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPLA) is the parent company of LPL Financial LLC, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser that provides services and support to financial advisors. Rather than operating primarily through a proprietary branch network, LPL enables independent financial professionals, registered investment advisers, and advisors affiliated with banks and credit unions to operate their own practices while accessing investment products, technology, and business resources.

The company’s platform supports brokerage and fee-based advisory services, retirement plan services, insurance and annuity products, alternative investments, cash management, research, compliance, and practice management.