LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $235.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $275.27.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

LPLA opened at $205.71 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $289.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $221.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 360.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during 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.