LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.24 EPS

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24, Zacks reports. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $361.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $334.85 and a 200 day moving average of $273.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $379.37.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.