LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 1.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) rose 1.7% on Wednesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $290.00 to $305.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. LPL Financial traded as high as $264.41 and last traded at $262.66. Approximately 112,802 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 530,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.21.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.36.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total transaction of $1,485,582.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in LPL Financial by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $260.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.66. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.79%.

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.