LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Barclays

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target cut by Barclays from $409.00 to $372.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $557.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $387.00 to $393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.60.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $283.74 on Wednesday. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $400.16. The company has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $323.02. 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 results on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.69 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.36% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 23.50 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 6.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,182,397.52. The trade was a 4.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.3% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 1,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Key LPL Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting LPL Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: LPL added Anchor Financial Partners to its broker-dealer and RIA platforms. The team reportedly serves approximately $525 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement-plan assets, adding to LPL’s advisor network and asset base. LPL Financial Welcomes Anchor Financial Partners
• Positive Sentiment: A Bell Global Equities Fund investor letter pushed back against concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt LPL’s advisor-driven business model, supporting the long-term value of its independent wealth-management platform. Bell Global Equities Fund on AI Disruption Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its target from $390 to $369 but maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside based on the referenced share price. This indicates analysts remain divided rather than uniformly bearish. UBS LPL Financial Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Truist Financial and JPMorgan Chase all issued lower expectations or price targets for LPLA. TD Cowen’s revised target was reported at $356, while the cluster of reductions weakened investor sentiment and contributed to the stock’s decline. TD Cowen Cuts LPL Financial Target
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reported insider activity showed four open-market sales and no purchases over six months, adding a modest additional cautionary signal.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc is a financial services company that supports independent financial advisors and institutions across the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, LPL Financial LLC, the company provides brokerage, investment advisory, and custodial services, enabling advisors to serve individual investors, families, retirement plans, and other clients.

LPL’s platform includes access to brokerage and advisory products, securities clearing and custody, trading and operations support, technology, compliance services, investment research, and practice-management resources.