LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Price Target Raised to $378.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $311.00 to $378.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $296.42.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $320.50. The company had a trading volume of 436,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 725,173. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.04. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $332.91. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related 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 transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 345.8% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 9.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 12.3% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 616.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.