LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $362.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.79.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $316.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.53. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $400.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 24.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.57%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,867 shares of company stock valued at $2,079,664. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,182,595,000. SurgoCap Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $299,487,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $290,481,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after purchasing an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc is a financial services company that provides brokerage and investment advisory services through a network of independent financial advisors. Operating primarily in the United States, the company supports advisors who serve individuals, families, businesses and retirement plan participants.

LPL Financial’s platform offers access to investment products and services, including equities, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, insurance products, annuities and alternative investments.