Brokerages Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) PT at $362.31

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $369.08.

A number of analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total transaction of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,889,830.60. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% in the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.0% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in LPL Financial by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 17,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $8.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $371.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 422,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 852,822. The stock has a market cap of $29.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $390.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $374.51 and a 200 day moving average of $349.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.30%.

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.