TD Cowen Cuts LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target to $399.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target trimmed by TD Cowen from $410.00 to $399.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $440.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $453.00 to $444.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $406.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.07.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $378.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $359.13.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 11.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.43, for a total transaction of $564,645.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,785,729.10. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,747,538 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 97,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,737 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 16,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.