LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given New $405.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $397.00 to $405.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.50.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $366.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $375.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $335.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. 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 currently 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,472,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 82.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 52.2% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 643,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,708,000 after purchasing an additional 220,622 shares during the last quarter. 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.