LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $390.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.42.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $336.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $344.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $318.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.08.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.