LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $369.83.

LPLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $435.00 to $420.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $405.00 to $342.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $414.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This trade represents a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% 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 company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in LPL Financial by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,561,000 after buying an additional 19,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,625,000 after buying an additional 13,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $6.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $326.33. 95,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $323.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.98. LPL Financial has a 12 month low of $187.19 and a 12 month high of $384.04.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

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.