Brokerages Set LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) Target Price at $351.50

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $351.50.

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 50.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $2,633,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% in 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. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $348.93 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $350.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $327.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial will post 16.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

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.