LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Rating Lowered by TD Cowen

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at TD Cowen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $403.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $406.00. TD Cowen's price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.34% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $369.08.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $8.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $371.97. 422,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 852,822. The company's 50 day moving average is $374.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $349.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 46.34% and a net margin of 8.23%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total transaction of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,889,830.60. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% during the 1st 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. boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1,453.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,038,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,795,000 after buying an additional 971,814 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,747,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 851,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position 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 buying an additional 805,637 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, 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.