LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $390.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LPL Financial traded as high as $334.38 and last traded at $333.37, with a volume of 11953 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $330.53.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

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 $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $292.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.65.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s 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.