LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $365.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LPLA. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Rothschild Redb lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.77.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $314.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $354.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.72. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $236.59 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,080 shares of company stock worth $1,097,290 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jackson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12.6% in the third quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its stake in LPL Financial by 55.1% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 7,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 40.3% during the third quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $3,052,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 25.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.