LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Up 0.4% - What's Next?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) traded up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $381.51 and last traded at $380.82. 243,669 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 635,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $27.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,740,000 after acquiring an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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