William Blair Comments on LPL Financial Holdings Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:LPLA)

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for LPL Financial in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $3.78 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.75. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $15.63 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for LPL Financial’s FY2024 earnings at $16.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $4.96 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $4.90 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $4.85 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $5.30 EPS.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 56.36%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LPLA. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James began coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.20.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $270.79 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $264.90 and a 200-day moving average of $243.15. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $179.00 and a 1-year high of $276.12.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in LPL Financial by 286.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,553,000 after purchasing an additional 613,792 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in LPL Financial by 1,732.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,055,000 after buying an additional 537,272 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,245,000 after buying an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 358.2% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,604,000 after buying an additional 357,245 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.52, for a total value of $1,485,582.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,462.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.06%.

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.