LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading 0.5% Higher

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $261.13 and last traded at $260.29. 30,793 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 527,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $266.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on LPL Financial from $260.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $302.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $268.36.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $262.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.47.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 57.68% and a net margin of 10.61%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.79%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 34,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.54, for a total value of $9,277,457.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 141,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,798,037.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kabir Sethi sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.50, for a total value of $346,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,730,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,151 shares of company stock valued at $15,911,088 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth $30,000. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 164.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 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.