William Blair Reduces Earnings Estimates for LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) – Equities researchers at William Blair reduced their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of LPL Financial in a research note issued on Monday, April 14th. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $18.30 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $20.00. The consensus estimate for LPL Financial’s current full-year earnings is $19.35 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for LPL Financial’s Q4 2025 earnings at $4.67 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $20.50 EPS.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.83.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $313.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $384.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in LPL Financial by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,740,000 after buying an additional 14,106 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,561,000 after acquiring an additional 19,126 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $109,625,000 after acquiring an additional 13,936 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.