LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $351.50.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $348.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.24. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $350.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.