LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) PT Lowered to $282.00

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $309.00 to $282.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $271.69.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA opened at $243.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $216.72 and a 200-day moving average of $249.16. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $289.88. The firm has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 6,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.