LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading 0.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $376.11 and last traded at $373.98. Approximately 581,964 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 575,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $343.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was 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 Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LPLA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $305,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,982,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $153,946,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.