LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Rothschild Redb lowered LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen lowered LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $405.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.77.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of LPLA opened at $314.73 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $236.59 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $354.17 and its 200-day moving average is $353.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.61.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,080 shares of company stock worth $1,097,290 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 123.1% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 234.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.