LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target Cut to $391.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group lowered its price target on LPL Financial to $391 from $395, while keeping a buy rating. The new target still implies about 27.6% upside from the current share price.
• LPL Financial reported Q1 earnings of $5.60 per share, beating estimates, though revenue of $4.94 billion came in slightly below expectations. Revenue was still up 34.6% year over year.
• The stock traded around $306.33 after a modest decline, and analyst sentiment remains positive overall with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $398.57.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by research analysts at UBS Group from $395.00 to $391.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.64% from the stock's current price.

LPLA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.57.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $1.25 on Wednesday, reaching $306.33. The stock had a trading volume of 202,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,792. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $294.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,956,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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