LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Earns “Market Outperform” Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $305.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an underperform rating on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $276.20.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

LPLA stock opened at $270.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $264.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.15. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $179.00 and a 12 month high of $276.12. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 56.36%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total value of $2,563,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.