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

Key Points

• LPL Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on 15 analysts: 10 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy, and four Holds. The average 12-month price target is about $398.86.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $5.60 EPS versus estimates of $5.49, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of 22.98.
• LPL Financial also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable June 4, and insider selling has been notable, including sales by a director and the CFO. Insiders own about 0.60% of the company, while institutional investors hold 95.66%.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four 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 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $398.8571.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LPLA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

LPL Financial Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $273.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.57. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $304.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $335.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The firm's revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,538,826 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 550.0% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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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