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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Fifteen analysts give LPL Financial an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" (10 buys, 4 holds, 1 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month price target of about $398.86.
• Recent results and payout: LPL beat EPS estimates ($5.60 vs. $5.49) while revenue was a slight miss ($4.94B vs. $4.98B) and up 34.6% YoY, and the company announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend ($1.20 annual, ~0.4% yield).
• Insider activity: Insiders sold 8,569 shares worth roughly $2.72M in the last quarter (including the CFO and a director), leaving insiders with about 0.60% ownership.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $398.8571.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $593,663,000 after buying an additional 12,214 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 187,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,537,000 after purchasing an additional 36,950 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $327.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $281.51 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.81.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.06% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business's revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 23.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

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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