LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $286.92.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $330.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.40. 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 74.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by 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.