LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $280.40 and last traded at $280.8050, with a volume of 96175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $283.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $305.48 and a 200 day moving average of $338.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,768. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.