LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 0.3%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price was down 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $262.99 and last traded at $264.53. 71,407 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 524,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on LPLA shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $268.36.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $263.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 7,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.66, for a total transaction of $1,883,263.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,377,676.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following 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 quarter, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,141,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,446,000 after purchasing an additional 48,439 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,145,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,945,000 after buying an additional 79,869 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,099,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,322,000 after acquiring an additional 161,485 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,026,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,744,000 after acquiring an additional 181,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.