LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to "Overweight" Rating

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $397.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $288.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.28% from the stock's previous close.

LPLA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $345.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $0.89 on Tuesday, hitting $335.64. 639,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 603,375. The company has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.48. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $344.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

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

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.