LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Down 0%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s share price was down 0% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $265.52 and last traded at $266.80. Approximately 30,207 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 521,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. UBS Group upped their price target on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.79%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $30,000. 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.