LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives $286.92 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $286.92.

Several research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 38.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,703 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 533.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $3,648,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in LPL Financial by 23.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,923,000 after acquiring an additional 21,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 394,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

LPLA opened at $312.25 on Friday. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $312.50. 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 $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.78.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.