LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Rothschild Redb

Key Points

• LPL Financial has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Rothschild Redb, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, LPL Financial recently reported earnings of $4.51 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing significant year-over-year revenue growth of 30.8%.
• Currently, ten investment analysts hold a "Buy" rating for LPL Financial, while the stock has an average price target of $391.54, indicating potential for growth.

Rothschild Redb cut shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LPLA. TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $390.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $391.54.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of LPLA traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $336.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,350,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $362.75 and its 200 day moving average is $353.50. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $216.65 and a 52-week high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The business's revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,671,235 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 77.3% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 2,701,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,013,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,249 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $402,312,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,795,000 after acquiring an additional 971,814 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 61.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,745,000 after acquiring an additional 926,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 786.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 959,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,849,000 after acquiring an additional 851,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.