LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 0.5%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) rose 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $261.13 and last traded at $260.29. Approximately 30,793 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 527,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

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’s 50 day moving average is $262.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.77. The company has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.21 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total transaction of $354,834.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 in the last 90 days. 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 LPLA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 29.1% in the 1st 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 during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 21.3% in the 1st 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 during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in LPL Financial by 176.6% in the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.