LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $377.96 and last traded at $379.35. 100,808 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 606,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $344.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the third quarter valued at $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 15.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,444 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in 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 valued at $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.