LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Seventeen analysts rate LPL Financial a “Moderate Buy,” with 12 buy ratings and five holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $405.79, above the stock’s reported $359.33 price.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: LPL reported quarterly earnings of $5.84 per share versus the $5.39 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 35.2% year over year to $5.19 billion.
• Institutional ownership remains high, while insiders have sold shares: Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company, with several funds adding or initiating positions. Insiders sold 5,735 shares worth about $2.02 million over the past 90 days, and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $405.7857.

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total transaction of $110,066.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,397.52. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,735 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,845. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,012,000. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $199,998,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $371,616,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,713,000 after purchasing an additional 57,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $2,822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $359.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.67.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 24.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

About LPL Financial

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.

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