LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective raised by analysts at Citigroup from $375.00 to $380.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LPLA. Rothschild Redb cut shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $455.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.50.

LPL Financial Stock Up 11.5%

LPL Financial stock opened at $377.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $339.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.27. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.61.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 40.11% and a net margin of 5.35%.LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.42, for a total transaction of $235,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,304,265.40. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,333,105. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second 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 during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its position in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.