LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Earns Overweight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their overweight rating on shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $490.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $450.00.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. TD Cowen downgraded LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.15.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA traded up $10.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $378.87. 877,641 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,344. The company has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.64. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $390.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $376.63 and a 200 day moving average of $350.57.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,351 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $305,747,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after acquiring an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.