LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $397.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $288.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.17.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $333.42 on Tuesday. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $344.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $321.20 and a 200-day moving average of $264.96.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.8% in the third 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 boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.