Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target increased by research analysts at Barclays from $378.00 to $379.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.50.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $334.59 on Monday. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $344.86. 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 has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $324.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.02.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after buying an additional 650,675 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after purchasing an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in LPL Financial by 50.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 750,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,472,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,931 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.