LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives $268.36 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $268.36.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $264.29 on Tuesday. LPL Financial has a one year low of $179.00 and a one 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in LPL Financial by 164.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.