Barclays Cuts LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target to $365.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $414.00 to $365.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.83.

LPL Financial Stock Up 11.2 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $318.88 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $342.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,740,000 after acquiring an additional 14,106 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,625,000 after acquiring an additional 13,936 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.