LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Shares Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shot up 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $372.63 and last traded at $368.00. 105,368 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 601,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $367.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $27.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $342.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.10.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 500.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $382,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 19.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,822,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 32.5% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,142,000 after buying an additional 17,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $240,000. 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.