LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Down 5.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• LPL Financial shares fell 5.8% to about $312.93 in Tuesday trading, with volume significantly below its average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 12 Buy and four Hold ratings producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $407 price target.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $5.84 in EPS and $5.19 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 35.2% year over year.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $318.29 and last traded at $312.9320. 95,871 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 888,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $407.00.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $350.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total transaction of $110,066.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,182,397.52. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total value of $153,067.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $617,139.12. This trade represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 5,867 shares of company stock worth $2,079,664 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 10,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,088,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in LPL Financial by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 161,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,438,000 after buying an additional 20,758 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 2,011.8% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,163,000 after acquiring an additional 20,842 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc NASDAQ: LPLA is the parent company of LPL Financial LLC, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser that provides services and support to financial advisors. Rather than operating primarily through a proprietary branch network, LPL enables independent financial professionals, registered investment advisers, and advisors affiliated with banks and credit unions to operate their own practices while accessing investment products, technology, and business resources.

The company's platform supports brokerage and fee-based advisory services, retirement plan services, insurance and annuity products, alternative investments, cash management, research, compliance, and practice management.

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