LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $390.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

LPLA has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $333.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.48. LPL Financial has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $344.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.