Analysts Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target at $268.36

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $268.36.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 worth $15,911,088 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 218,199.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 95,191,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,577,580,000 after acquiring an additional 95,148,049 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $217,799,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth $117,183,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 worth $135,055,000 after purchasing an additional 537,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $259.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $179.00 and a 52-week high of $274.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $262.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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