LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $322.03 and last traded at $319.96, with a volume of 249788 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $314.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $252.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.45.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36,474 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 32.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 227,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,844,000 after acquiring an additional 56,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at about $4,007,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.