LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Down 4.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• LPL Financial shares fell 4.4% following a downgrade from Rothschild & Co Redburn, changing its rating from buy to neutral with a price target of $390.00.
• Despite the downgrade, LPL Financial received varied analyst ratings with ten analysts rating it a buy and a consensus price target of $391.54.
• The company is currently operating with a market cap of $26.01 billion and has a recent quarterly earnings report showing strong revenue growth of 30.8% year-over-year.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.4% during trading on Friday after Rothschild Redb downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $318.87 and last traded at $324.48. 256,827 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 817,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.37.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LPLA. Barclays dropped their price objective on LPL Financial from $463.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $391.54.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $799,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $362.75 and a 200 day moving average of $353.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

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.