Brokerages Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target at $428.71

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $428.7143.

Several analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $285.34 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $339.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total value of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,768. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,990 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,837. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Camden National Bank boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in LPL Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

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.