UBS Group Reaffirms Hold Rating for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA)

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by UBS Group in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $406.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.57% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LPLA. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial raised LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price objective on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $463.00 to $438.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.86.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.7%

LPLA stock opened at $380.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $360.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $262.83 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,983,353. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lynwood Price Capital Management LP grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lynwood Price Capital Management LP now owns 59,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,629,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Severin Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth $502,000. Prana Capital Management LP increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 105.1% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 8,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $954,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.