LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Given New $385.00 Price Target at Citigroup

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $310.00 to $385.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.42.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $330.41 on Friday. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $344.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $322.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.43. The firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after acquiring an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,635,000 after acquiring an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.