LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $383.61 and last traded at $379.46, with a volume of 1348463 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $383.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $348.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter worth $31,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 95.66% of the stock is 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.