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

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $286.92.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $235.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $889,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in LPL Financial by 14.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,954,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $280.81. 1,022,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,129. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $291.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.60. The stock has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.08% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.77 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

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.