LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Down 0.8%

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shares fell 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $260.59 and last traded at $262.40. 80,843 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 520,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $254.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $268.36.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $263.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 57.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total transaction of $9,277,457.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,810 shares in the company, valued at $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total transaction of $346,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock worth $15,911,088 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $200,497,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in LPL Financial by 286.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,553,000 after purchasing an additional 613,792 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in LPL Financial by 1,732.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 568,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,055,000 after purchasing an additional 537,272 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 774,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,245,000 after purchasing an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in LPL Financial by 358.2% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 456,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,604,000 after purchasing an additional 357,245 shares in the last quarter. 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.