LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Time to Buy?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price traded up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $368.11 and last traded at $365.57. 67,908 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 609,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $341.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $27.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % 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 Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 14,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 58,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 14,994 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. Intrust Bank NA purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $720,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.