LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $325.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $235.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $313.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $275.69.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $229.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.12.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that LPL Financial will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $450,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 8,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,478,000. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in LPL Financial by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

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.