LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) to Issue $0.30 Quarterly Dividend

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th.

LPL Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. LPL Financial has a payout ratio of 6.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect LPL Financial to earn $19.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.3%.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA traded up $3.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $269.47. 562,073 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 542,490. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $179.00 and a 52-week high of $276.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $264.62 and a 200-day moving average of $242.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 56.36% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.35, for a total transaction of $2,563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.94, for a total value of $354,834.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,419.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $276.20.

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.