LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target Raised to $399.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $393.00 to $399.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LPLA. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $557.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $354.00 to $335.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $369.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.00.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $292.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $319.25 and a 200-day moving average of $319.94. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.05% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 23.52 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 6.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $617,139.12. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total transaction of $110,066.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,182,397.52. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 40.0% during the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 75.6% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 45,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,815,000 after purchasing an additional 19,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 36.9% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 55,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14,837 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. provides brokerage and investment advisory services through a network of independent financial professionals. The company supports financial advisors, registered investment advisers, banks and credit unions with services designed to help them serve individual and institutional clients. Its offerings include investment and retirement planning platforms, brokerage and advisory account services, custody, financial technology, research, compliance support and practice-management resources.