LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price Up 1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) shot up 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $379.59 and last traded at $377.70. 128,223 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 604,899 shares. The stock had previously closed at $373.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LPLA. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $435.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research 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, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $344.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial 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 owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.