LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Down 0.8%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $260.59 and last traded at $262.40. Approximately 80,843 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 520,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. LPL Financial's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,131,229.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in LPL Financial by 13.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 12.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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.

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