LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $354.13 and last traded at $350.40, with a volume of 599305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $348.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $378.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.50.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $329.74 and its 200-day moving average is $269.38. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value 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. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 32.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 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.