Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $390.00 to $405.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LPLA. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $288.00 to $397.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.50.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $366.89 on Friday. 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 market cap of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. LPL Financial has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $375.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $335.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.06.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. Analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, 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 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. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 276,166 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 497,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,635,000 after buying an additional 223,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 643,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,708,000 after buying an additional 220,622 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by 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.