LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $334.83 and last traded at $331.00, with a volume of 81570 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $322.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $311.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.50.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.95 and its 200-day moving average is $259.75. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,301,204.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 48.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,760,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 9,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at about $803,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 2,531.1% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 366.6% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 15,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after acquiring an additional 11,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% 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.