Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target raised by research analysts at Barclays from $311.00 to $378.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 16.65% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LPLA. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.42.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

LPLA stock opened at $324.05 on Monday. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $332.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $288.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released 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. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 5.1% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.