LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target Raised to $305.00 at JMP Securities

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target upped by JMP Securities from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LPLA. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an underperform rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $268.36.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $263.32 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $261.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.83. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $179.00 and a 1 year high of $274.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 29.1% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 21.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 176.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.