LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLAGet Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $390.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LPL Financial traded as high as $334.38 and last traded at $333.37, with a volume of 11953 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $330.53.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.17.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LPLA

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in LPL Financial by 5.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,070,000 after purchasing an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 217,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,586,000 after purchasing an additional 88,196 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 882.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,996,000 after purchasing an additional 77,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $292.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLAGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

About LPL Financial

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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.

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