LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Target Cut by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets lowered its price target for LPL Financial from $390 to $370 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 11.45% upside from the $331.98 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 14 analysts rate LPLA a Buy and four rate it a Hold, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $412.47.
• LPL Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.84 in adjusted EPS and $5.19 billion in revenue, with revenue up 35.2% year over year; meanwhile, insiders sold $2.08 million of stock during the last quarter.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $390.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target points to a potential upside of 11.45% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $389.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $412.47.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $331.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $347.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.21. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The company's revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 24.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total value of $153,067.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $617,139.12. The trade was a 19.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,867 shares of company stock valued at $2,079,664 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at about $1,182,595,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,103,079,000 after purchasing an additional 289,227 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,734,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $520,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About LPL Financial

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.

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