LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $379.17.

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $271,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,821,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 231,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,587,000 after acquiring an additional 63,100 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 143.9% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,681,000 after acquiring an additional 10,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $450,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $333.90. 953,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,031. The company's 50 day moving average is $353.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.92. LPL Financial has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $384.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

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.