LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $290.83.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPLA shares. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $325.15 on Wednesday. LPL Financial has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $330.72. The stock has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $274.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.03.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial will post 16.1 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.